Power Rangers: Shattered Hourglass
by Michelle the Editor
Summary: Akra-Mary Sues-are attacking, possessing and controlling the Power Rangers in every incarnation, and only a few misfits with morphers stand in their way. ON HOLD.
1. Hourglass Facility, July 3rd, 2010

Disclaimer: The show belongs to Saban. Credit also goes to Pink Lightspeed Ranger, who let me create an alternate universe version of one of her OCs.

I've decided to upload this using the same slot as the previous version so those who have this on Story Alert, but haven't Author Alerted me, will know about it.

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><p><strong>Kohala High School, Hawaii, June 15<strong>**th****, 2010**

Finishing the last high-five, Zanna stumbled into the shelter of the bleachers. She started teasing the rubber band out of her now-tangled black hair. Most of the other girls wandered off, probably heading for the showers.

Zanna plunked down on a bench beside the water cooler. Nobody was paying attention, so she squirted a little water into one cupped hand, and rolled down her sock. Wincing, she dribbled it on an ugly red abrasion running down her shin.

"How's the leg?" One of the other girls asked, sitting beside her. Zanna jumped. "Oh, ouch. Hang on; I think I've got band-aids in my bag."

"You don't have to do that."

Her teammate pulled a battered, oversized band-aid out of her gym bag. "Knew it. Give me your leg."

Zanna flinched as the girl touched her ankle, turning her sideways and lifting her leg. The tip of the blonde's tongue poked out of her mouth as she maneuvered the band-aid into the right spot. Zanna tried to remember her name. Morgan? Macy?

". . . There! Perfect!" She let go of Zanna's leg.

"Thanks," Zanna said, not making eye contact.

"Some of us are going out for ice cream after we're done here. Want to come?" Looking away, Zanna mumbled something about Dad and homework. "Oh. Too bad. Next time?"

"Maybe," Zanna said, meeting the girl's eye and smiling a little. "Thanks."

"No problem. Take care of that leg." Her teammate ran off.

Zanna dropped her head into her hands. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," she groaned, shaking her head. "This is why you don't have any friends! All you had to do was say yes!"

That was when Zanna noticed the field had gone quiet. She sat up, confused, and listened. All around her, the crowd had gone still and silent. A wind picked up, rocking the palm trees on the far side of the field. The air rippled.

A beam of white light shot down into the middle of the field, fading to reveal a female Power Ranger. Her uniform was white, with black accents on her gloves and boots, along with black chest armor. The eyes of her unicorn head-shaped helmet gleamed, and her knee-length cape rippled around her.

"Don't panic," she said, revealing the voice of a young woman. "I'm not going to hurt you. Much."

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><p><strong>Hourglass Facility, July 3<strong>**rd****, 2010**

Someone shoved Garfield, and he fell against the wall, sliding to the floor. He wasn't even that tired—well, all right, his head buzzed, he was hot and cold all over, and his eyes throbbed—just fed up with these pushy strangers. Ever since they'd knocked over the military truck, it had been nothing but dragging, shoving, yelling and hitting.

More footsteps pattered around him as others—soldiers from his unit or strangers, they hadn't had a chance to talk—were herded down the hallway. From the end of the hall came a sound like a generator, and occasionally a scream.

His latest guard—a woman, by her voice—seized Garfield's arm. Jerking him to his feet, she shoved him further down the line. His legs folded, and he fell flat, catching himself on the cold floor.

"Leave me alone, I'm protesting," Garfield muttered. The fever made his Estuary accent even more slurred.

The woman responded with a boot to the ribs. She was wearing heels, too. Garfield grunted, but didn't get up. When the woman went to kick him again, he caught her ankle. With a yank, he flipped his guard off her feet. She hit the ground with an oof, and Garfield cackled.

"You—" the woman snarled.

"Tiffany!" A male voice called from down the hall. "I need you!"

The woman hesitated. "I'll deal with you later," she said at last, springing to her feet and running away.

"Later, darling!" Garfield called. The cold floor soothed his face a little, even through the bandage around his eyes. He could feel each of the gashes burning individually: one slicing through his right eye, one slanting from left eyebrow to right cheekbone, and the last running down the side of his nose. He shut his eyes. Maybe if he could get a little rest now, he'd be able to run when they came back for him. He knew he didn't have a chance, but no reason to go gently into that good night.

Garfield heard a shuffling noise from behind him—and then startled exclamations from the other men. An alarm began to blare. Lifting his head, he heard a woman's voice.

"This way if you want to live."

There was a pop-bang, and a burst of wind. Immediately, the prisoners ran, some bumping or tripping over Garfield as they went. Someone crouched beside him, touching his shoulder. The stranger grasped him by the upper arms, sat him against the wall, and undid the dirty bandage around his eyes.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Can you see?"

"Not a thing—who are you? Where did you come from?"

"My name isn't important—and we don't have much time. You're the only one here who's tried to fight the Akra. Would you do it again?"

Garfield shrugged. "They're going to kill me if I don't."

"Take these." The stranger pressed a couple of objects—a gyroscope on a chain, what felt like a penlight—into his hands. "This is a Gyro morpher. It'll allow you to become an Hourglass Power Ranger."

"A what that'll do what now?"

"Hold this up," she put his hand over the gyroscope, "Spin the hourglass, say 'Sands of Time, Rise Up,' and you'll find out."

"Stop!" Tiffany was coming back.

Garfield's rescuer pulled him to his feet. "Say 'Sands of Time, Conceal' to keep from being discovered," she added. Grabbing his hand, she held up his arm and the penlight, and pressed a button under his finger. The device recoiled with another pop-bang.

Without further ado, the stranger shoved Garfield forward. He stumbled, but instead of a wall, he stepped into something that felt like jelly. Remembering how he'd gotten into this building, he guessed "portal" before he was whisked away.

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><p><strong>Mariner Bay, September 10th, 2000<strong>

Zanna sat in a corner of the park, fingering her purple Lightspeed jacket. She wondered if they'd have to turn these in, too, now that they were done being Rangers.

"Mind if I join you?" Carter asked.

Zanna looked up, and beamed at him. "Not at all." The former Red Ranger sat down beside her. "I noticed everyone's breaking the rules today."

"Hey, we're retired, we can fraternize all we want," Carter replied. He took her hand. "Got a problem with that?"

"What about Dana?"

"I think she'll be okay," Carter replied, glancing towards Zanna's older sister. She and Chad had wandered out of Captain Mitchell's sight. "Besides, it's not up to her who I date."

"I guess you're right."

"You sound disappointed," Carter said. "Are you?"

In answer, Zanna just smiled, and leaned in to kiss him—just as a fire engine drove past, wailing. Only now did the team notice black smoke rising from the city. The smiles faded, and Carter's shoulders slumped.

"We'll make up for it later," Zanna said, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. She pecked him on the cheek.

Rising, Carter ran after the disappearing engine. In ones and twos, the other Rangers followed, Joel groaning.

"Hey! You forgot these!" Captain Mitchell shouted, holding up the morphers.

"I've got it, Dad," Zanna said, gathering them in her arms.

He grinned in relief. "What would I do without you?"

"Let's hope we never have to find out." Zanna took off after the others.

However, before she caught up with the runners, a blurry figure slammed into her, knocking her down. Rescue Morphers clattered to the pavement. Moving on instinct, Zanna rolled, pinning the runner beneath her, only to be punched in the chin. Her head snapped back.

"Zanna!" She heard her Dad shout.

The guy beneath her—Chad!?—pulled a small gyroscope out from under his shirt. "Sands of Time, rise up!"

The burst of green energy blinded Zanna, throwing her across the street. When her vision cleared, she stared. An unfamiliar Power Ranger stood before her. His uniform was bright green, his opaque, diamond-shaped visor the bottom half of an hourglass. Brassy buttons ran up the sides of his white chest panel and the cuffs of his gloves. Drawing a flintlock from his hip, he cocked it and took aim at her.

Snapping out of her shock, Zanna rolled away as he fired. A cloud of gas burst from each of his shots—the last one hit her in the leg, hard. Standing unsteadily, Zanna struck a fighting stance. Her Rescue Morpher lay with the others, agonizingly out of reach. Although she tried to shield her face, she already tasted eerily sweet gas coating her mouth and throat.

"Who are you?" Zanna demanded, swaying. She wanted to scream for the others, or her Dad, but her mouth was going numb. Captain Mitchell, who'd been standing stock-still, broke into a run.

"A friend." The Ranger sounded a lot older than Chad, her Dad's age at least.

Zanna's legs buckled. Catching her, the Ranger laid her facedown on the grass. She convulsed, and his hand clamped down on the back of her neck. He pulled off her Rescue jacket, tossed it aside, and sliced open the back of her shirt. Zanna wanted to scream, but all that came out was a croak. Something slimy moved on her skin, burning like jellyfish venom. Zanna could see a little of her shoulder: yellowy, gleaming tendrils appeared on her skin. Her stomach tightened into a knot.

Zanna lay helplessly as the Ranger peeled the yellow thing off. The stinging worsened. Captain Mitchell stopped, looking confused. Wildly, Zanna wondered why her Dad wasn't helping her.

Wait—her Dad? Zanna's father was named Kyle, he sold used cars. No, that made no sense, Captain Mitchell was her father and Ryan and Dana were her half-siblings. She remembered two childhoods and sets of parents, and they both felt equally real. Her head swam. Another convulsion jerked her limbs as the unfamiliar Ranger kept pulling tendrils.

Screeching, the yellow thing let go of Zanna's back with a sucking sound. It latched onto the Green Ranger, clinging to his helmet and arms. Startled, he yelled and struggled, falling flat on his back. Spurts of yellow lightning shot through his body, and he screamed.

Everything was going grey. Zanna tried to fight it, get up, but with the monster gone, the numbness quickly overwhelmed her. Writhing in agony, the Ranger crumpled. The last thing Zanna heard was Captain Mitchell's distorted, echoing voice.

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><p><strong>Corinth City, May 6<strong>**th****, 2000's**

With a whoosh and a gust of wind, Garfield found himself on solid ground again. Stumbling, he flailed for something to grab on to. Just as he found a doorpost, someone walked into him, and they both fell down. As Garfield hit the floor, he realized several things. One, even though he still couldn't see and felt sick as a dog, the scars on his face were gone. Two, he was in new clothes, including a leather jacket and something hanging around his neck on a cord. Three, whoever he'd bumped into had spilled their duffel bag all over the floor.

Scooting forward, Garfield began feeling around. He knelt on a floor, bare and smooth. His hand bumped a spilling water bottle, and he righted it just in time for a slender hand to snatch it away. People murmured around them, and the stranger, probably a girl, was out of breath. His head buzzed, and he had to stop until the dizziness passed.

"Sorry," he said, and paused. That was not his voice, nor his native accent. Why was he Scottish all of a sudden? Ohhh, right, disguise. He hadn't expected the voice, though. Actually, now that he was paying attention, his entire body felt different, even his teeth—the gyroscope thing was thorough.

"No, no, it's my f—" A girl replied, trailing off. Garfield could smell violets now, very strongly—his mother had worked in a perfume shop, and he could distinguish more scents at one sniff than most of the women he knew. At least now that he couldn't see, he could chalk it up to scary blind man senses. That had been the first thing Rory said after the medic explained Garfield's eyes were totaled. Garfield had been high on enough medication to think it was funny.

A warm feeling flowed through Garfield, and the fever dissipated. The pain that had burned steadily behind his eyes for days faded to a faint throb. He sensed that the woman in front of him was the most beautiful creature he'd ever met. The rest of his mind shrugged in bewilderment.

"You're the Blue Ranger!" The girl exclaimed.

The same warm, fuzzy feeling was made him grin, and told him exactly what to say next. Too tired and confused to argue, he went along with it.

"You've got me. Flynn McAllistair, RPM Operator Series Blue," he said, holding out his hand. The girl shook it. "Knock people down here often?"

"Alicia Wilson, and yes, but usually on the sparring court," she replied.

"Do you, now?" Garfield grinned, helped her stand, and passed her the duffel bag. He felt more coordinated and normal than he had since before Venjix's attack. Stupid dialogue or not, this wasn't half-bad.

"Come back here tomorrow if you want me to prove it to you," Alicia said.

"Why not now?"

"I think those two heading for us are your friends." Garfield turned around, hearing footsteps, and a hand came down on his shoulder. He stood up, and felt the Gyro Morpher bump against his chest.

"Flynn," another woman, probably around Alicia's age, said, "Doctor K wants us back at the Garage. New weapon or something."

"On my way, Summer. Same time?" He asked Alicia. This drew a rather odd-sounding "oooh" from Summer.

"You've got it. If you're supposed to be protecting the city from Venjix, you'll need all the help you can get," Alicia said. Garfield froze as Alicia slipped past him. Venjix? Was this Corinth City? They'd been heading here before the Akra attack—at least, eh thought so. He thought Rory had mentioned it a couple of times, but he'd been either high on medication or raving with fever, so his memory was foggy.

"Flynn!" A man snapped, and punched Garfield in the arm.

"I'm fine, let's go," he said, feeling his ears get hot and probably pink. From Summer's giggle, she interpreted the change a little differently, and Garfield shook his head. This was going to be a strange job.

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><p><strong>The Time Ship, Time Inapplicable<strong>

Zanna felt like she'd gotten a backrub with sandpaper. She opened her eyes, and blinked a few time to get rid of the blur. She lay facedown on a white bed, flatter than she was used to. Cranking her head around, Zanna saw a wall covered in unfamiliar little machines.

For a second, she wondered what she was doing here. Then it all came back in a rush—getting attacked by that White Ranger, the laboratory, that squishy yellow thing attaching to her back, and then getting her life rewritten. A wave of nausea rushed over her, and she shut her eyes. Now she could remember: she was no Power Ranger, nor Captain Mitchell's daughter. That year with Lightspeed (had it been that long?) felt like a dream.

Now that she was paying attention, she could hear muffled, quiet voices. Zanna sat up, a little unsteady, and listened.

". . . Erasing the timeline," a woman was saying. "Seems like it was a pretty normal Akra."

"Then how'd it kill him? Wulfric was a good fighter," a man said.

Wait, killed? Zanna stood. The Green Ranger was dead?

"Kamikaze attack," the woman replied. "Used up all of its life energy in one big burst. It must have been pretty desperate."

It had: they'd made a lot of progress with Carter. Thankfully, they hadn't gone beyond kissing—but with a shudder, Zanna realized that was only because the Akra hadn't been able to push him that far yet. Worse, she remembered where that idea had come from. As soon as it had attached to her back, the Akra had dug into her memories, particularly her fantasies.

"Perfect," it had said. "Let's get Carter."

It was her fault—and she'd gotten the Ranger trying to save her killed for it. With a groan, Zanna slumped against the wall. Her forearm hit a panel, and a silvery door slid open beside her, making her jump. Through it she could see what looked like the bridge of a ship, manned by a woman and two men in white uniforms. Time Force? A row of bizarre little objects lay on the center console. She recognized the gyroscope: the Ranger had used it to morph. Her memories were fuzzy, but she thought the Akra had briefed her about those other things. They were definitely for fighting Akra.

Then Zanna realized. She couldn't bring Wulfric back, but she could carry on his work. There were plenty of other Akra prisoners who needed rescuing. Zanna's bare feet thunked on the metal floor as she ran into the room and snatched up the tools.

"Hey!" A man shouted. Whirling, Zanna saw the three strangers spring to their feet.

"Please," she said, looking each one in the eye. "I know what the Akra are like, and I've got a year of experience as a Power Ranger—even if it was under mind control. Let me do this."

"No way," the woman replied. "You have no idea what you're getting into. The Akra have already beaten the original Hourglass Rangers, and they had natural immunity and training for this job. The building you got possessed inside? That used to be _their_ base."

"The Akra took you over once, they could do it again," one of the men added.

"You don't have to make up for anything. It wasn't your fault," the last officer, a tall Asian man, said. He walked around the console, stopping in front of Zanna. "We can take you home."

Zanna shook her head. "What's the point of the Green—"

"Harlequin," the woman corrected.

"—Ranger dying to save me if I just go home? Besides, if it's that bad, you need all the help you can get."

Nobody said anything for a long minute. The only sound came from the thrumming engines. Zanna's palms sweated, but her feet got very cold. She started to think about putting the stuff down; these three were the experienced ones, and they didn't think she had a chance.

Unbidden, a memory of Zanna's capture sprang into her mind: the girl who'd bandaged her leg getting dragged away by the White Ranger, screaming for help, and then later being sedated in the laboratory because she was trying to get away. Zanna's hands clenched.

"Fine," the Asian man said. He smiled, just a little.

"But—" the other man began, stopping as the other glared at him.

Zanna nodded once, mouth dry, and looped the gyroscope chain around her neck. "Thanks." She looked down at the other tools, and giggled nervously. "Um, can you guys show me how these work?"

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><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

There are a couple of different references to Pink Lightspeed Ranger's original character here. In the very first version of A Shade of Orange, Jane was the Purple Ranger; the collaboration we tried to write last year opened with Jane playing and losing a soccer game; even the name Zanna is taken from the Latvian version of Jane.


	2. Corinth City, May 7th, 2000's

Disclaimer: Power Rangers is the property of Saban. Today's Sue was submitted by Rye Lee.

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><p><strong>Corinth City, May 7<strong>**th****, 2000's**

Garfield pushed the Fitness Center's door open, and walked inside. He moved very slowly, keeping one hand on the wall, but still bumped into a few benches. Each thump made him wince; he'd gotten a colorful collection of bruises from the walk back to the Garage yesterday. Nobody had paid much attention to him, even when he'd gone straight to bed after Doctor K's meeting and slept the rest of the day.

He followed his nose to the lockers, finding Alicia just closing hers. She still reeked of violets. Garfield had no idea what to do with her. Maybe once he'd gotten over the fever, relearned a few of the basics, he'd try out a few of his weapons when nobody was around.

"Hi," the girl said, giving her combination lock a spin. "Ready to be knocked down properly this time?"

"Oh, I'm not so sure that's going to happen," Garfield replied, far more cockily than he felt, and leaned on the locker. "Seeing as I'm the trained Ranger, I may do a bit of knocking down myself." The Scottish accent still sounded weird coming out of his mouth.

"We'll see. Come on." Alicia took Garfield by the arm and led him through the loose group of people onto a mat.

Garfield slipped off his shoes as he felt the floor change, and wondered just how badly he was about to get beaten up. He seemed to be able to navigate better around Alicia; would that affect how well he fought? Even before the attack his wingmates described his fighting style as "drunken gorilla."

He found himself facing Alicia, fists raised and left foot in front. The Akra lunged for him, and Garfield ducked a high kick. Springing back up, he wrapped his arm around her knee and flipped her off balance. Her hands and feet thudded on the mat as she landed. Before Garfield could do anything, Alicia's foot shot out, caught his ankle, and flipped him flat on his back.

Alicia scrambled on top of him, trying to pin him to the mat. Fortunately, she was rather smaller than Garfield in Flynn's body, and he managed to flip over, trapping her instead, despite her wriggling. They both panted for a minute.

"Not bad," Garfield said, grinning.

"Not bad at all. You can get off, now."

"Oh, I kind of like us where we are." Garfield actually tried to stop the words coming out, but only slurred them a little. He shivered.

"Wait until the third date at least, tiger," Alicia replied. She was smiling, though; he could hear it in her voice.

"Then we'd better get started on the first one. Also I'm a lion."

"Roar." Catching Garfield by the shoulder, Alicia flipped him to the ground, pinning him with one arm. With a choked laugh, Garfield tried to get up, but somehow, the skinny girl held him down. This wasn't going to be easy.

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><p><strong>Outside Alicia's Apartment, May 29th<strong>

"Thanks, Flynn," Alicia said, as Garfield closed the hood of her car. He tried to wipe the grease stain off his cheek, but just smeared it.

"No trouble at all."

"I knew you had to be good at something useful—because you really stink at fighting," Alicia added, grinning wickedly. Garfield raised his eyebrows.

"Really?" He made a grab for her, but she ducked, caught him by the wrist and pinned him to the hood of her car.

"Yes, really!" Alicia's grip was tight enough to hurt.

"Point made—let me up now?" He asked. Alicia giggled, and somewhere nearby, Summer echoed the noise. Garfield rolled his eyes—there was something wrong with that woman, and it mainly seemed to come out when Alicia was around.

"What's the magic word?" The Akra's voice was teasing. Garfield growled.

"Please?"

Alicia cocked her head to one side. Pins and needles started working through Garfield's fingers.

"Hmm, how about 'please let me up, I'm just a simple mechanic who will never best you, Alicia'?"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Alicia gave his arm a wrench, and Garfield nearly bit his tongue stifling his yelp. Why did she keep doing this to him? Did she think mild beatings were flirty?

"All right, all right! Please let me up, I'm a simple mechanic who will never best you, Alicia!"

"_Just_ a simple mechanic," Alicia corrected him.

Garfield sighed in exasperation, and enunciated each word. "Please let me up, I'm just a simple mechanic who will never best you, Alicia."

"Thank you!" She sang out, releasing him.

"You're welcome," Garfield muttered, rubbing his wrist and flexing his bloodless fingers. Summer and Scott laughed again, and Garfield glared in their direction. Unfortunately, that drew them towards him. "Could you be more careful with that super strength of yours? I think you cut off my circulation."

"Aw, does poor widdle Fwynn's hand huwt?"

"That was meant as a compliment, actually," Garfield said, though he would have preferred "is there a name for what's wrong with you?" Grabbing a handkerchief, Alicia wiped the grease stain off his face.

"Well, thank you, then. Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time." Garfield walked away. Hearing footsteps, he sped up, but wasn't able to outrun his "teammates."

Scott's arm slammed down across his shoulders, and he staggered a little. The Red Ranger just laughed and tried to pull him in for a noogie, but Garfield ducked out of the closing headlock.

"You and Alicia are so cute together!" Summer squealed.

"Girls," Scott said, and chuckled. "By the way, if you guys need baby names—"

"Both of you just shut up," Garfield snapped, and both adults made very un-adult noises.

Summer's hand slipped onto his elbow. "What's the matter, Captain Grumpypants?"

"Seriously, dude, you have no reason to be in a bad mood right now. Venjix hasn't shown his head for weeks, Doc K's giving us tons of free time, you've got a gorgeous girlfriend—"

"Were we ruining the moment with Alicia?"

Garfield had to get rid of them. Shaking off their hands, he turned to face them, trying to look contrite.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. I've just got to get something done—myself, see. I'll see you guys later. Okay?"

"Okay," Scott said, sounding a little confused. "Bye, Flynn."

"See you back at the Garage," Summer added, and skipped away.

Garfield didn't wait for them to leave to start walking. Once he'd gotten good and far away from Alicia or the RPM Rangers, he ducked into an alley. Backing against the wall, he pulled his Gyro Morpher out from under his jacket.

"Reveal!"

Garfield transformed back into himself: as before, he very nearly saw the blue flash. The first time he'd done this, he'd reverted to his old uniform and open wounds, but he'd prepared for it. New clothes, medical supplies and eventually sunglasses, and he was just another wounded veteran in Corinth City.

With a few directions from bystanders, Garfield made his way to Corinth's library. It seemed like one of those fancy old buildings, a lot of steps and Corinthian pillars—oh, hey! He chuckled as he found a quiet computer alcove. On one of his earlier trips during the last three weeks, he'd been shown the voice command setting, and now Garfield typed in the command code.

Garfield scooted his chair in a little closer. The place smelled like sea-scented air freshener, and a few other people passed him quietly. He cleared his throat.

"Computer, check latest census for Elizabeth Brooks, point of origin London, England, approximately forty-seven years old." The computer hummed to work, and feeling a little nervous, Garfield slid his wheelie chair closer. It was a sunny but mild midafternoon, and a weekend, but even the few people in the archives made him jumpy. He didn't know how, but he was worried someone connected to the Akra might recognize him, which was why he usually stayed disguised.

"No such person located," the computer said. Garfield bit his lip.

"Search other lists," Garfield replied. The computer went back to work. Garfield almost wished Alicia were here—the Akra influence made newly difficult tasks like walking or getting the right change easier.

"Elizabeth 'Liz' Brooks," the computer began, startling Garfield back into the real world, "Reported aboard the evacuation ship Constantine before its sinking, presumed drowned."

Garfield let his head drop forward until it thunked against the computer desk. He didn't say anything, didn't do anything, for a long time. He'd suspected it, but hey, a guy could hope, couldn't he? He let out a long sigh.

"Computer, locate Makoto Hsien," he said at last. He sat back in the chair, and ran a hand over his face. His wounds had closed up; they were sensitive, but just ridges now.

"Makoto Hsien. Current residence: 16, Skye Apartments, resides with infant daughter Marcia."

Garfield shook his head, smiling sadly.

"It's a girl, Rory. You owe me five pounds." His voice shook a little. "Why couldn't you have been the one to get out instead of me?"

"Not enough information to respond. Please rephrase the question," the computer replied.

"Bloody computers." Garfield coughed, and spoke normally. "Locate Jodie Harper."

* * *

><p><strong>Alleyway, June 4th<strong>

Zanna stood in the shadows of an alley, scanning the area for any Rangers. Her Gyro Morpher had automatically transformed her into someone named Tenaya 7 on her arrival. For the last month, she had done nothing but strut around Venjix's palace and mock the other generals—which she secretly admitted was rather fun. She even secretly helped some of the human prisoners, even though she knew Time Force would undo it all anyway when they removed the Akra.

Here she was, in Corinth City, about to attack at last—and from what Venjix had said, the target had to be their Akra. That probably meant she would be fighting as an Hourglass Ranger soon. Unconsciously, Zanna clenched her fist on the Gyro Morpher. The Akra would probably find out about her pretty soon, and then they'd be after her, trying to recapture or even kill her.

Zanna's train of thought was interrupted by loud laughter. One quick peek around the corner confirmed her suspicions: Flynn, Blue Ranger, strolled down the road. A pretty auburn in an orange silk dress hung on his arm. Zanna didn't recognize her, but the familiar wave of Akra influence emanating from her removed all doubt. Zanna smirked, and backed up, gesturing for the Grinders to fan out and hide in ambush.

"Seriously, Alicia, I still don't understand how you can be so strong," Flynn was saying.

The auburn shrugged. Her hair straggled out of its bun, but only in an attractive way. Akra power worked in strange ways sometimes. "It's just a gift—I've always had it."

"Your 'gift' is driving Doctor K crazy. She's been begging me to let her run some tests on you to find out what's causing it."

"Poor thing." Alicia didn't sound sympathetic at all.

This drew another laugh from Flynn, but Zanna detected a strained look in his eyes. Was he holding out?

"Apparently there _are_ women in the world who think men in spandex tights are hot," Zanna said, stepping out into the street behind the pair. "Aaaand there goes my faith in humanity."

The two whirled around as Grinders leaped out of their hiding places, surrounding them. Flynn quickly shoved Alicia behind him, but she pushed his arm aside, glaring at Zanna.

"You're interrupting my date. Big, big mistake, robo-girl."

Drawing herself up, Alicia blew a gust of gale-force wind at the Grinders, blasting them in every direction. Zanna's eyes widened, and Flynn stared in disbelief.

"What?" Zanna cried.

"Don't just stand there, morph!" The Akra host exclaimed, jabbing Flynn in the side.

Well, it was a good moment. Zanna drew in a deep breath, and raised the Gyro Morpher beside her head with her left hand.

"Sands of Time," Zanna began, flicking the hourglass with her thumb and setting it into a spin, "Rise Up!" She raised it over her head.

_Zanna poses inside a clock tower, surrounded by bronzed cogs and wheels. The hourglass in her right hand shines green, and the sand bursts out. It covers her, forming her suit, and the image of the hourglass forms her helmet._

_"Harlequin Hourglass Ranger!"_

"Monkey see, monkey do," Flynn said, taking another Gyro Morpher out from under his jacket. As both girls stared at him, he paused, and shrugged. "Or hear, whatever. Sands of Time, Rise Up!"

_Garfield stands before a huge, dripping water clock. The hourglass in his hand glows blue, and the sand explodes around him in a blue storm. Swirling wildly, it forms his Ranger suit. A blue, squarish hourglass forms his visor._

"_Cerulean Hourglass Ranger!"_

Zanna grinned ear-to-ear: another Hourglass Ranger. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

"No!" Alicia screamed, recoiling from the two.

"Yes," the other Ranger said, shrugging widely.

Alicia dropped into a fighting stance. "What have you done with Flynn?"

"Just swapped places. You've never actually met him, sorry." His accent had changed to…Zanna guessed it was lower-class British.

Alicia's expression darkened and she made a grab for the Cerulean Ranger's throat. He swung back to avoid it, and Zanna remembered the weapons Time Force had shown her.

"Hourglass Revolver!"

The flintlock appeared in her hand, and she fired. Green gas exploded from the barrel, but Alicia quickly blew it into the Cerulean Ranger's face. His suit shielded him, so he ignored it and lunged for Alicia, wrapping his hands around her throat. She choked, caught him by the wrists and yanked his hands away. With a fierce snarl, she twisted both of his hands back until he cried out in pain. Charging, Zanna seized the Akra in a headlock, but got headbutted in the jaw. Quickly, Alicia spun, kneed Zanna in the gut, and slithered out of her grip.

"You've ruined everything!" The girl screamed.

"What are you doing?" The Cerulean Ranger asked, coming up beside Zanna. Fumbling for her shoulder, he pulled her to her feet. "With the shouting, I mean. Kind of new at this."

"Summoning my weapons—say the name and it appears. Neural Net!"

Whirling the green net over her head, Zanna threw it. As Alicia sucked in a breath to blow it away, the net wrapped around her, knocking her down, and all of the little electrodes woven into it flashed. Stunned, Alicia crumpled on her side. As she went still, her skin began to change color. Yellow tendrils spiderwebbed across her back and shoulders, clinging to her skin. With the Host out of commission, the Akra had to reveal its true form: a gooey parasite.

"You okay?" Garfield asked, standing and rolling his wrists.

Breathless, Zanna ran to the unconscious Alicia. "We have to get the Akra off her back. That way Time Force—"

"Time what?"

"Police from the future will be able to detect it, take it into custody and undo the timeline. The Host will be returned to her normal time as well. Containment Jar!"

As Zanna spoke, the jar came to her hand. It was made of glass, full of a thick, clear liquid anesthetic to keep the Akra docile. Setting it on the ground, she rolled Alicia over onto her stomach. So far, so good. The Cerulean Ranger crouched beside her.

"I don't understand," he said, putting a hand on Alicia's back. The Akra twitched, and he recoiled. "O-okay, now I think I do. It just comes off?"

"It leaves a welt, but yeah, once it's unconscious it just peels off." The Cerulean Ranger nodded, and with a little trouble, he began pulling the Neural Net aside. The Akra seemed calm enough, but Zanna remembered hers had been like that for a while, too. She started pulling the tendrils off. They curled around her fingers like pumpkin vines.

"After all that time and work, I was kind of expecting something bigger," he said. Quickly, he added, "Not that I want it to be harder! It just seems kind of underwhelming after . . . you know, everything else. I've been here for a couple of months."

Zanna shrugged. "Most likely the Akra don't know we're here yet. They'll find us and begin trying to stop us soon enough."

The man's shoulders slumped. "Fantastic. Oh well, nobody said this job would be easy." He held out a hand. "Garfield Brooks."

Letting go of the Akra, Zanna shook hands. "Zanna Mitchell."

"I still don't know what a Power Ranger is."

"Us."

"Ah. That's not helpful at all."

"Then get comfortable, because this is a long story."

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

Makoto Hsien is meant to be the mother who appeared in the opening of "Ranger Red"; she's played by the same actress as A-Squad Pink, and especially in this rewrite, the parallel universe connection is too much fun to ignore.


	3. San Angeles, June 8, 2007

Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban, today's Stu was submitted by WolfsbaneX, and Zanna is very, very loosely based on Pink Lightspeed Ranger's favorite OC.

* * *

><p><strong>Corinth City, August 7th, 2000's<strong>

"The Akra were originally a science experiment, trying to make symbiotes to bond with people and heal them, but they went rogue. They decided that each of them needed to have a perfect life, so they started making alternate timelines so they could do that without getting in each other's way," Zanna said, as she sealed the lid on the Containment Jar.

"And this Hourglass Facility thing?" Garfield asked. Without much else to do, he'd shifted Alicia's Host's body into a more comfortable position.

"An organization put together to stop them. Apparently most of the Rangers were chosen because they were incompatible with the Akra—nonhuman aliens, old, disfigured—and they did well for a while. Then the Akra Queen attacked and conquered the base."

"The who?"

Zanna stood up, dusting herself off. "The Queen. She was the first Akra, and she's the most powerful. She killed most of the Rangers right there and took over. From what Time Force said, just about everyone involved is dead by now."

Garfield shrugged, standing with her. "Eh, I've faced worse odds."

Zanna was silent for a moment. Guessing he was being stared at, Garfield shifted in place uncomfortably. She'd stared before, when they first demorphed, but realizing the rudeness she'd apologized quickly, even though Garfield didn't mind. He figured it was better for her to stare now and get used to it, and he'd told her as much.

"I wish I had your courage," Zanna said at last.

"The only courage I have comes out of a bottle, darling. Anything's better than Venjix. Speaking of, should we put the real Flynn and Tenaya back and get going? I think you said those Time Force people prefer to show up after we've left."

"Yeah, I did. Um…" Garfield heard her searching through her pockets. "Flynn got automatically sent into your pocket dimension when you arrived. You reach in and say his name, and you'll be able to pull him out."

"Is he going to panic?" Garfield asked, digging around for the pocket dimension. It turned out to be something like a necklace made of linked metal bars, which he snapped into a foot-wide ring, hearing Zanna do the same.

"Doubt it. The trip usually knocks them out," Zanna replied.

Garfield chuckled a little, and stuck his arm inside. "This is going to be a weird little scene when we leave. Flynn Allistair!"

* * *

><p><strong>Outskirts of San Angeles, June 8, 2007<strong>

The Overdrive Rangers charged into battle with much shouting, and Flurious's Chillers ran to meet them. The Rangers smashed and blasted the foot soldiers apart with ease, but there were enough of them to keep the Rangers busy, which was what Flurious wanted.

The villain strode up to a stone altar, and placed his palm flat on an indentation in the top. He turned it, and with a rumble, the altar's sides folded back. Inside it sat a gleaming bronze shield, covered in runes and carvings of battles.

"At last," Flurious gloated, holding up a bronze shield. "The Shield of Achilles is mine!"

"No!" Mack shouted, trying to force his way through the Chillers in vain.

Laughing, Flurious turned and started away, carrying the artifact. Without warning, a black blur zipped past Flurious, ripping the shield out of his grasp. The attacker rolled and sprang back up, turning to face the villain, shield at the ready. He turned out to be a dark young man, dressed in black leather and wearing a katana strapped across his back. He flicked his black hair out of his stormy grey eyes, and let out a quick laugh.

"What?" Flurious roared. The Rangers paused in their battle. Zanna, now in the guise of Rose, pinned a Chiller's arm to her chest and stared as the foot soldier did. She wondered where Garfield had gone. Was he Flurious?

"Who is that?" Mack wondered aloud.

"I've never seen him before, but I like his style," Will commented.

"Yeah!" Dax agreed eagerly.

"You're going to regret interfering, whoever you are!" Flurious roared, advancing on the stranger and hefting his staff.

"The name's Jorge de Pareja, and actually, I think you're the one who'll be doing the regretting," the newcomer replied with a confident smirk. With one swift motion, he drew the katana off his back and gave it a quick twirl.

"Shouldn't we help?" Tyzonn asked.

"He seems to be doing fine on his own," Mack replied, grinning.

Zanna noticed Tyzonn shake his head, rolling his eyes. That was probably Garfield—but no time to confirm it right now. Flurious charged, swinging his staff like a club. Jorge calmly made one slash with his katana, and Flurious stopped up short. The villain looked at the two steaming halves of his snow staff, and let out a roar of fury. Jorge set the tip of his katana to Flurious's throat.

"Run. Now," he ordered.

Flurious, being an ancient warrior with an army of monsters at his command, turned tail and ran like a kicked puppy. However, Zanna did see something small and shiny fly out of his hand as he fled, heading towards Jorge. The Rangers—all of them—were understandably awestruck, though for different reasons.

"He's amazing!" Ronny gushed.

"Fantastic!" Tyzonn exclaimed, though he looked a bit strained.

Zanna found herself staring at Jorge. Akra control didn't make her speak, but it didn't have to. She knew she was making a guppy face at him. In a twisted way, she was almost glad. It was sort of like payback for her to be on the wrong end of a mind-control romance, after her year with Carter.

"Dude, you have got to show me how to do that!" Dax cried, running over to Jorge. He was startled when the stranger pointed the katana in his direction.

"I'm not on your side, Rangers," Jorge said. "I need the Shield for my own purposes. Goodbye."

"You can't!" Ronny protested.

"Watch me," Jorge replied, and turned away. Nobody moved to stop him.

"We're trying to protect the entire universe! What's more important than that?" Mack demanded.

"Look, go play superheroes somewhere else!" Jorge yelled, brandishing his katana again. "The Shield is safe from all those aliens, what's your problem? I know it isn't part of the Corona Aurora, so leave me alone!"

But as Jorge turned to leave, Zanna saw the shiny object again—a beetle made of ice clinging to the Shield of Achilles. Its body flashed red, blinking faster and faster. Almost before she knew what was happening, Zanna broke into a run.

Jorge whirled around with an incredulous shout as Zanna charged towards him. Smacking his arm aside, she ripped the Shield of Achilles out of his hands, clutched it to her chest, and somersaulted away. The bug turned red, and the explosion threw her several yards into the air. Zanna screamed, but couldn't hear it over the blast.

She hit the ground with a jolt that jarred every tooth in her head. Her ears rang, and she could taste blood in her mouth. She just had time to think "ow," before pain blazed through her ribs, so powerful that she could barely breathe. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed the Overdrive Rangers running towards her in slow motion.

Then Jorge was bending over her. His expression was a mixture of horror and disbelief. As Zanna's vision grayed out around the edges, she tried to say something, but it hurt too much. Jorge shook his head, and she fainted.

* * *

><p><strong>Hartford Mansion<strong>

Garfield stood in a corner of the base, listening to Jorge yell at the Overdrive Rangers. The others had called him Tyzonn, whoever that was supposed to be. They'd brought the Akra Host and the remnants of the Shield of Achilles back to Hartford Mansion. Jorge had simmered the entire way there.

"I didn't say it was beyond repair," Mr. Hartford said, "Just that it would take some time!"

"I don't have any time! This is all your fault—if you hadn't shown up, Flurious would never have gone after the Shield!" Jorge roared. "Do you just need to get your hands on every single artifact on the planet?"

"Dude, calm down," Dax tried, but Jorge whirled on him, his sword clanking with the movement.

"Calm down? Thanks to your bumbling, I've lost my last change at revenge!"

"Hey, thanks to _your_ stubbornness, Rose got hurt!" Mack retorted.

Jorge paused. Even unable to see, Garfield could tell there was a lot of glaring going on. The Akra tweaked his own emotions as well, and he guessed he was supposed to be torn between anger, fear and worry.

"She wouldn't have had to get in the way if you hadn't brought Flurious there," he said in a calmer voice. "Now, while you see if you can repair the damage you've caused, I'll be around." He strode into the service elevator. The doors hissed shut after him.

"Is there a name for what's wrong with him?" Mack asked.

"He mentioned revenge," Garfield put in, sounding more reasonable than he wanted to be. "From the way he was acting, I think there's more to this than treasure hunting. It's personal."

"Correct," Spencer said, entering the room. "I've run that background check, sir, and it appears Mr. Pareja lost both of his parents quite recently, under questionable circumstances. They were apparently . . . . frozen solid and shattered."

"Oh," Mack said, looking suddenly guilty. The other Rangers mirrored the expression.

"That's just wrong," Dax said, shaking his head.

"I'll get to work on that Shield," Mr. Hartford said, and sighed. "I just wish Rose could help—it'd go a lot faster."

All feeling awkward, the Rangers dispersed. After a moment, Garfield realized that he wasn't going to do anything important—the Akra influence was barely even there. He decided to go check up on Zanna.

She was just waking up as he arrived, in Rose and Ronny's shared quarters. He knocked over a stack of books, and heard Zanna's breathing pause. She stirred, and he felt his way to a chair. Quietly, he slid another stack of books off it, and sat down.

"Garfield?" Zanna asked, turning towards him.

"You okay?" The Cerulean Ranger asked, shifting a little awkwardly in his seat. He'd never had a good bedside manner—it had been an endless source of teasing from his Gramps in the old man's last few years.

"What are you doing here?"

"Is this out of character? Should I not be in here?"

"No, Tyzonn is a pretty empathetic guy." She sat up in bed with a stifled groan. "We should be fine. I'm glad you're here, actually—I've been wanting to work out a real strategy or two."

"You really do have a one-track mind, don't you? No offense," Garfield added quickly.

Zanna was quiet for a moment. "I'm focusing on the mission. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no, I was just wondering if we're ever going to take a break from pretending to be other people and hunting Akra. From what you've said, the normal Rangers usually get a couple of days at least between attacks."

"Yeah, but we're not exactly normal Rangers. We've got to keep moving or the other Akra will catch up to us."

"I know, but I don't think I can keep this up—bouncing from one set of superheroes to another to another. Honestly, I don't know how you're doing it." Garfield was playing with his Hourglass Morpher.

"I'm not tired." Zanna let out a little laugh. "Actually, I've dreamed of doing this since I was little—though I usually pictured the Rangers remembering the meeting." Garfield grinned at the nostalgia in her voice.

"I know what you mean—even though my childhood was a little short on real live superheroes."

"I pity you," Zanna said, sounding sincere.

"What, only now?" Garfield laughed incredulously, but Zanna didn't.

"You're not the first blind guy to fight with the Rangers, or have a nasty past. The guy you're pretending to be? He got turned into a monster, and the bad guys tricked him into thinking his fiancée was dead."

"Ouch." Garfield winced. His uniform creaked a little as he shifted in his seat. Evening birds twittered out the window, and a breeze drifted inside. Garfield caught a blend of plant scents, the strongest pine and something lemony. "So, what's the plan for Jorge?"

"We wait until a good moment, like with Alicia—when he thinks everything's going exactly the way he wants." Zanna lay back down.

"Jorge gets a morpher, doesn't he? You know what," Garfield leaned forward, starting to smile, "Bet you a fiver it's Bronze. Match the Shield and all that."

"What's a fiver?" Garfield fumbled in his pocket. During his time as Flynn, he'd worked out a little system for telling which bills were which. It had cost him one rather strange conversation with Scott, but it had been worth it. He held the bill up, and Zanna craned her head around to see it.

"Oh, British money. That's about five dollars?"

"Closer to eight," Garfield replied, after a moment's calculation. "I'll buy you something if Jorge gets Bronze. Call it a test to see how long it takes the Akra to notice us, if you want."

"Okay. I should come up with a counter-bet?" Zanna asked. Putting the money back, Garfield nodded. "Then Green. Guy Akra Rangers usually pick that in teams that don't have it."

"You're on." Zanna got out of bed, wobbled and caught Garfield by the shoulder for balance.

"What are you doing?"

"Jorge wants me in the lab now." She was a little breathless with pain.

"Oh. Come here, I'll help you." Garfield stood up, putting one arm around Zanna's waist. She was slenderer than he'd imagined she would be.

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>It was early the next morning when Zanna and Andrew Hartford emerged from the laboratory. Although the sun was barely even up, Jorge was out back, practicing his swordfighting moves. There was a strong chance he hadn't slept at all last night, even though he looked completely rested. He came inside as Zanna appeared in the doorway.<p>

"Follow me, Jorge." The Akra host looked a bit confused, but he followed Zanna into Mr. Hartford's office. The other Rangers were trickling in, yawning and pajama-clad.

"What is it?" Mack groaned.

"First, the bad news," Mr. Hartford said. He fixed Jorge with a serious gaze. "I'm sorry, Jorge, the Shield of Achilles is beyond repair."

Jorge nearly went for his sword, letting out a startled exclamation that was probably a curse word. That roused the others, who backed out of the way quickly. Garfield even slipped into a fighting stance.

"However," Zanna interrupted, coming around Jorge and to the desk, "We were able to channel its powers through some of the shards."

"The reason we called all of you here is because you have a say in this," Mr. Hartford said. He reached into a drawer of his desk, and pulled out a green Overdrive Tracker. Jorge's jaw dropped—and his was nowhere near the only one. "Jorge, I know you work alone, but just consider this. We'd be glad to have someone with your experience and skills on the team."

Jorge moved closer, and took up the morpher. Turning it over in his hands, he shook his head a little.

"Okay, you surprised me." He laughed a little, and turned around. "Honestly, it's up to you guys. Your team and all that."

The Overdrive Rangers' response was immediate. Forgetting their sleepiness, they all grinned and began shaking hands and slapping shoulders, welcoming Jorge to the team. He looked as surprised as Zanna felt at the reception.

"I always thought we needed a Green Ranger," Dax said.

Garfield's head snapped towards him at that. "Okay, Zanna, you win. Now?"

"Now," the Harlequin Ranger agreed.

"Sands of Time, Rise Up!" The two shouted, morphing in flashes. Jorge drew back, confused, and the Overdrive Rangers defaulted to what Jorge had made them do from the beginning—watch and do nothing.

"My turn. Electro Javelin!" Garfield exclaimed, and the metal double-ended spear appeared in his hands. Pushing past the bemused Dax, he stabbed at the Akra Host's chest, only for him to catch the haft. As Jorge pushed, Garfield sent an arc of electricity down the spear, hurling him into a wall.

With a strangled noise, Jorge went for his sword, but Zanna kicked him flat on his back. Flipping the javelin sideways, Garfield slammed it down on Jorge's throat, flattening him to the floor. Jorge choked and struggled, but his sword was strapped to his back, pinned beneath him so he couldn't reach it.

"Hourglass Revolver!" Zanna exclaimed, and flipped the weapon into Tranquilizer Mode. Jorge arched his back and caught her by the wrist as she knelt, but pinning his wrist under her arm, she injected him in the inner elbow. With a yell, Jorge tried to kick Garfield, but the Cerulean Ranger avoided it.

"Can't," he gagged.

"Can, basically just did," Garfield replied. "Good night, sweet prince." Jorge's eyes rolled back in his head, and he went limp. Standing up, Garfield turned towards the bewildered Overdrive team.

"Oi, any of you know where I can swap a tenner for some of your floppy cloth money?"

* * *

><p><strong>Hourglass Facility, July 4th, 2010<strong>

Tiffany, the guard Garfield had knocked down, folded her arms, drumming her fingers on her sleeve as she waited for the elevator to reach the top floor. Beside her, a man paced around the small space in the elevator. They both had the same sun-kissed hair, bronzed tans, blue eyes and unnaturally attractive features; in fact, they were twins.

"How many did we lose?" The man asked. His black leather uniform creaked with each step.

Tiffany sighed. "Three potential Hosts and over twenty spares. I'm guessing you didn't catch the Ranger?"

"She got away again. If the Queen would just let me kill her like the others—" He punched a fist into his palm.

"Tristan," Tiffany said in a warning tone. "You know what that'll do to the timeline."

"Why is it such a big deal, anyway? If we can create alternate timelines, we can get rid of one useless alien who doesn't even do anything important," Tristan retorted, as the elevator stopped.

The doors slid open, and the twins walked into the room. It was wide and circular, the walls one continuous computer screen showing thousands of images. Each showed an Akra timeline. In the center of the room stood a young woman, eighteen or so, manipulating a holographic model of the Facility. Compared to her, Tristan and Tiffany were positively plain.

"Good, you're here," she said. Tossing the hologram away, she stepped back, beside them. The silver streaks in her brown hair gleamed in the bluish light. With a gesture, she summoned another screen, this one showing Zanna's Yellow Akra attacking the Harlequin Ranger. "The good news is that Zanna here managed to kill Wulfric."

"Something tells me there's bad news coming," Tristan said.

The brunette nodded, with a wry smile, and brought up a second video. "He's gotten a replacement—and there's a new Cerulean Ranger helping her."

Tristan grinned fiercely. "Don't worry about it, your highness—I'll take care of them."

"We're in private, you can just call me Mom," the Queen replied.

"But you don't look any older than us, it feels weird," Tiffany replied, with a laugh.

The Queen shrugged. "Whatever. You both think we can handle this?"

Tiffany grinned, and looked back at the two posing to fight Alicia. "They don't stand a chance."

The Queen smiled, and reached over to side-hug her daughter. "That's my girl."

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

Achilles' shield was actually a significant weapon in the Iliad, created for him by Hephaestus after he lost most of his other armor with his friend Patroclus (long story). There was a pretty long passage dedicated to describing all of the imagery decorating it.


	4. Silver Hills, June 20th, 2001

Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban, Zanna was inspired by a character created by Pink Lightspeed Ranger, and today's Sue was submitted by WolfsbaneX.

* * *

><p><strong>San Angeles, June 9th, 2007<strong>

"No, we do not have nearly enough for motorcycles, please stop asking," Garfield said, shaking his head. "When would we get to use them anyway? We spend almost all of our time pretending to be other people—who usually own motorcycles already."

"You've got a point," Zanna admitted. "Well, I'm out of ideas."

The two Hourglass Rangers wandered through the San Angeles Zoo. Garfield's sunglasses covered the worst of his scarring. The sky was overcast, but it didn't look like rain. Since it was a weekday, only a few scattered families were around.

Garfield's elbow bumped Zanna's ribs, where she'd taken the worst of Flurious's blast, and he heard her suck in a sharp breath. He turned his head towards her. "You're sure you don't need a doctor?"

"I told you, it's just a couple of bruises. Akra always make minor injuries more dramatic—except for the Blues, I guess. They usually skew the other way."

"Blues?"

"Did I forget to explain that?" Garfield didn't reply, and Zanna understood. "There are three types of Akra we have to deal with. Yellow Akra want everybody to love them, so they usually give themselves a bunch of powers or famous relatives or both. Blue want pity and protection, they have the strongest mind control and healing powers. Red want to be better than everyone, so they turn other people into rivals and kick their butts. They're the most suspicious and easy to set off."

"I'm guessing Jorge was a Red?"

"Yes, and Alicia and I were both Yellows. Reds don't do lasting injuries, especially to a designated love interest; I'm fine."

"Okay, okay, I believe you," Garfield lied. Every time he did more than brush Zanna's side she'd flinch in pain; stoicism was a good trait but not necessary right now. "Look, I can tell you're holding back on something, and you won fair and square. Come on, you can tell me."

Zanna slid him aside to avoid some pedestrians. She didn't speak for a minute, as the people moved around them. Her shoes scraped on the sidewalk, and her fingers flexed in Garfield's grip. Even though Garfield could get around relatively well on his own, they had less trouble when Zanna guided him this way.

"Well, normally I'd just add to my collection, but we don't really have anywhere to put one," Zanna said, sounding distinctly sheepish.

"Your collection of what?"

". . . Octopi. Usually stuffed animals or figurines," Zanna clarified. Garfield burst out laughing. "Just forget it. What am I going to do with a stuffed animal anyway?"

"We'll get one of those little ones on a keychain, you can put it on the necklace with your Gyro Morpher," Garfield replied, waving a hand.

Zanna stopped up short. "Is that even allowed?"

"Why wouldn't it be? It's your morpher, you can add an octopus if you want."

"It seems disrespectful."

"Fine, you can hang it from a belt loop. Aha—bland music, bland smells and air conditioning," Garfield said, turning left towards the source of the sensations. Sure enough, they'd found the zoo's gift shop.

Zanna steered Garfield between narrow shelves and plastic displays. He kept his free hand out, and as they stopped, he picked something plastic up off the shelf, turning it in his hands. Plastic, molded, some kind of figurine . . .

"Is this a tiger?" He asked Zanna.

"Huh? No, that's a bear."

"Oh." Garfield put it back, and grabbed something else. "Baby cow . . . no no, it's got an udder. Goat?"

"Right. Here, guess this." She put a soft plushie into his hands.

"Beady eyes, fuzzy, four legs," Garfield thought aloud, turning the thing over and over. "Kind of a mane. Lion?"

"Seriously?"

Double-checking, Garfield found hooves on the ends of its feet—at least, he guessed they were hooves. "Goat again?"

"It's a horse." Zanna was smiling audibly now. Garfield put the thing back with a chuckle.

"Have you thought about what we're doing right now? We're two misfit, renegade superheroes, being chased by an army of powerful symbiotes through time and space, buying souvenirs."

"Well, you did say we should take breaks," Zanna said.

At that point, Garfield heard a surge of energy somewhere behind him. Zanna whirled, and her hand clamped down on his arm. Voices began murmuring uneasily outside the shop.

"There they are!" A woman shouted. Garfield recognized the voice at once: Tiffany.

"No rest for the wicked," Garfield sighed.

Zanna was way ahead of him. "Floor's about to drop. Portal Pointer!"

Garfield heard a click, and then he and Zanna fell straight down through a portal. He thought he heard the buzz of lasers and something explode as they left: he wouldn't have been surprised. Everything exploded if the right bad guy shot it.

* * *

><p><strong>Silver Hills, June 20th, 2001<strong>

Garfield and Mr. Collins strode through the Silver Guardians' training grounds. He'd become Eric this time—and for once, he knew who the guy actually was. Zanna had explained Time Force pretty thoroughly, to help him understand their allies.

"Maddox, come here," Mr. Collins called. Garfield heard footsteps, and caught the smell of . . . was that ginger? Akra influence told Garfield that the newcomer was a startlingly pretty blonde. She stopped and saluted.

"_You're_ Dani Maddox?" Garfield didn't actually say "but you're a _girl_," but the Akra picked it up in his tone. He sensed her scowl.

"Eric, Dani has managed to defeat every opponent we've put against her," Mr. Collins said. "Which is why I'm assigning her to you as a partner."

"What?" Both Garfield and Dani exclaimed simultaneously.

Mr. Collins left then and there, with no further explanation. For a long, awkward minute, the two just stood there. Garfield could tell Dani was seething by her slow, hissing breaths. He had a nasty feeling he was about to get beat up—and that Dani wouldn't be flirt-fighting like Alicia.

"What's the matter?" Dani snapped. "You heard the man; I'm more than qualified for this job."

Garfield snorted. "Maybe you've got a few moves, but you're hardly ready for monster duty."

"Want to test that theory?"

In answer, Garfield dropped into a fighting stance, and the pair began to circle. The rest of the sparring Silver Guardians cleared the area. Garfield charged—only for Dani to sidestep so he missed completely. Springing up and turning, Garfield felt his expression change to surprised dismay, while Dani let out a mocking laugh.

Garfield charged again, and this time she chose to duck under his kick. Catching him by the ankle, she flipped him flat onto his back and slammed a side chop into the joint of his neck with a loud "Hah!"

Garfield decided to just lie there for a second, let his defeat sink in. Ow. Red Akra, definitely. Standing up, Dani held out a hand to her fallen opponent.

"Don't worry," she said, pulling Garfield to his feet, "You're not the first guy to get beaten by a girl. I've been training since I could walk."

"I get it," Garfield said with a laugh. He already felt his face sliding into the dopey expression that most designated love interests got eventually.

Dani held his hand for a long minute. Abruptly, Garfield's headset went off, and the pair started and released each other. In his ear, someone reported a monster attack downtown.

"Should I—" Dani began, but Garfield was already starting away.

"No—wait here with the other recruits," he called. Even without seeing Dani's face he knew exactly what expression was crossing it, and shook his head.

"_Wait here_?" Dani protested, but Garfield was already in his car.

Someone with a lower rank was driving, fortunately for Garfield, and they zoomed off. As they drove, Garfield wondered how successful this upcoming fight was going to be. If Dani didn't get involved, it probably wouldn't end well.

* * *

><p><strong>Warehouse District<strong>

The Cyclobots threw Zanna into the back of the truck, and she fell on her side, gasping like a fish. She demorphed and doubled over, clutching her throbbing ribs. The foot soldiers pried her Time Force morpher off her wrist and kicked her into the back of the truck. The monster had gotten in a few good hits in just the right place. Then again, she could already tell Akra influence was slowing her down so she'd lose, just like the rest of the team. The other Time Force Rangers tumbled into the back of the truck one by one.

Eric was the last inside. He tried to fight back as the creatures took his morpher, and knocked one of the Cyclobots down. Zanna wondered if he was the Akra Host. He seemed like their type.

"What's all this?" That was Fatcatfish, the monster who'd taken them all down.

Climbing into the truck, he seized Eric, twisting his arm behind his back. Eric grunted in pain, and slowly the Cyclobots peeled his fingers off his morpher. They threw him inside and slammed the doors, enveloping everyone in darkness. Within seconds, the vehicle rumbled to life, jolting everyone around. Zanna stifled a groan, clutching her side.

As they drove, she felt someone brush up against her, and a hand catch her by the shoulder. She sat up, bracing herself against the side of the truck, and the other Ranger did as well. She had a feeling who it was, but hesitated to speak. If it wasn't Garfield, things could take a bad turn, particularly if it turned out to be the Akra she was speaking to. She still wasn't sure who that was.

"You all right, love?" That was Eric's voice, but Garfield's slang.

"Garfield?" She hissed.

"Zanna?"

"I'm fine. Just a little sore."

"Liar."

"This isn't the time. The Akra could be here—"

"No, I've already met her. We're safe for now."

Zanna had to chuckle at that. "Depends on your definition of 'safe.'"

"Is someone talking?" One of the male Rangers asked.

Zanna and Garfield shut up. As the truck went over a pothole, she felt him slide an arm around her, and he muttered something about bracing her. Zanna was glad for the darkness; her ears turned pink, even though she told herself it wasn't a hug. Having his body to bump into _was_ slightly better than the metal truck. Nobody said anything for the rest of the ride.

* * *

><p><strong>Silver Guardians HQ<strong>

"Dani!" Mr. Collins yelled.

The girl paused, straddling a motorcycle. She glared, folding her arms, at the older man as he approached.

"I'm going to help, whether you like it or not."

To her surprise, Mr. Collins smiled. "That's what I was hoping to hear. Take this." Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a silver-trimmed version of Eric's Quantum Defender. Eyes widening, Dani took it, strapping it onto her wrist. "We've been working on this prototype Silver Defender for months. I want you to use it, be the symbol of the Silver Guardians."

Dani looked up at him, and grinned. "Got it." She abandoned the almost-stolen motorcycle, and held her morpher up to her face. "Silver Cycle!"

With a flash, a silvery motorcycle appeared before her. Leaping on it, Dani revved the engine and took off. She didn't need a helmet; the wind didn't make her so much as blink, though of course it whipped through her fair hair dramatically. Her Cycle had a homing system, and it soon locked on to the mutant's energy signal, somewhere in the warehouse district. She knew she was getting close when the Cyclobots opened fire.

Dani shot up a ramp and leaped over the foot soldiers, doing a flip in midair so she could grab her Silver Defender and open fire. Each shot struck home, taking out a Cyclobot before she'd even landed. Tires screeching, she rounded a corner and shot into the warehouse they'd been guarding. Up ahead she saw the Rangers, demorphed and bound to support beams.

"Say your prayers, Quantum Ranger!" Fatcatfish was saying, raising a gun to Eric's head.

Dani fired her motorcycle's lasers, peppering the monster. It swung around with a roar, just in time for her to run her cycle clean into him. He stumbled back, sparking, and Danielle skidded to a halt. She dismounted, spun and leveled her gun at the monster.

"What?" the Red Ranger exclaimed.

"Dani?" Eric yelped in surprise.

"Does the little girl think she can defeat me?" Fatcatfish bellowed, still confident.

"No—the 'little girl' thinks she can destroy you without breaking a sweat," Dani retorted. "Time for Time Force!" Her suit materialized around her in a silvery flash, and Dani struck a combat stance. "Silver Guardian Ranger!"

"Another one? Aluminum foil won't save you," Fatcatfish rumbled.

"You're right. Chrono Saber!" Giving the weapons a twirl, Dani charged in and began hacking at the monster. One blow and the front half of his gun clanged to the ground, smoking noxiously.

"Woah!" The Green Ranger exclaimed.

"She's got some moves!" Yellow added.

"Yeah, maybe—for a girl," Blue said.

Dani froze. "What did you call me?" Her voice trembled just a little.

Yelling, Fatcatfish attacked, but without even looking, Dani finished him off with one slash. He exploded in a burst of fire and smoke. At the blast, the other Rangers recoiled with shouts, but Dani didn't move. Once the fire was gone, she headed over to the others, cutting them free with a few slashes.

"Not bad," the Red Ranger said, rubbing his wrists.

Demorphing, Dani set the Chrono Saber to his throat. "Not bad? I just saved your lives—the least you could do is say thanks!"

"Hey, calm down!" The startled Red Ranger protested.

Dani shoved past him. Tossing her Chrono Sabers away, she caught the Blue Ranger by the shoulder.

"Don't think I missed your condescension back there, you sexist jerk. Say it again to my face!" She growled.

"You, meaning you, the Silver Ranger, are not bad, meaning okay," he began, only for Dani to swing around and throw him over her shoulder in a judo hold.

"Hey, you can't do that!" the Green Ranger protested.

Dani responded by whirling and tornado-kicking him in the gut. He hit the pavement and decided to stay there, winded and clutching his stomach.

"What's wrong with you?" Red demanded. He ducked another punch by the Silver Ranger, only for her to karate-chop him in the joint of the neck, flattening him to the pavement.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," The Pink Ranger said, and Yellow high-fived Dani.

A groan carried across the room, and Dani remembered Eric. Abandoning the Time Force Rangers, she ran back over to him. He looked pretty battered. As she pulled him to his feet, he gazed at her in bewildered awe.

"What was that?"

"Ask Mr. Collins when we get back," she replied.

The Yellow Ranger ran over to them. "Are you hurt?" She asked anxiously.

"Aside from a mild case of . . . I can't think of a gender-appropriate version of testosterone poisoning, I'll be fine," Eric replied, his tone becoming suddenly casual. He sat up, away from Dani, and pulled a necklace out from under his shirt.

Dani's eyes narrowed. "What are you doing?"

"Morphing. Observe," Eric replied, standing and raising the hourglass on the chain. "Sands of Time, Rise Up!"

Dani charged, drawing her Silver Defender. Not-Eric dropped, somersaulted away from the lasers, and opened fire with what looked like a flintlock. As Dani flipped towards him, she heard the Yellow Ranger shout the same phrase, and saw a green flash out of the corner of her eye.

"Neural Net!" With a whistle, a thick green mesh wrapped around Dani. The weight threw her off-balance so she stumbled and fell, and yelped as the electrodes zapped her. Everything went fuzzy. Scared now, Dani reached telepathically for someone to help her. She sensed Jen's mind first—her connection to the girls was stronger—but she couldn't seem to get through.

As not-Eric bent over her, she kneed him in the gut hard enough to hurt. Pushing him aside, his green companion grabbed something that looked like a syringe and stabbed it into the side of Dani's neck, right through her suit.

"Ow! What was that?" Dani screamed. She demorphed and clutched at her neck with shaking hands. Her vision started to blur. "You'll never . . . get away with . . ."

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

The Sentai villains were the Akara, and they were cursed spirits who possessed people. The Hourglass Rangers were all people born with a special ability called Genzō, and could see the Akara as coronas of differently-colored light around their hosts.


	5. Ocean Bluff, August 23, 2008

Disclaimer: I own nothing previously disclaimed, or today's Sue, once more a submission from WolfsbaneX.

* * *

><p><strong>Ocean Bluff, August 23rd, 2008<strong>

Garfield woke and bolted upright, gasping—and felt a hammock flip beneath him. He landed on a wooden floor, catching himself with outstretched arms. Hearing footsteps, Garfield felt two sets of hands catch him by the arms.

"Casey, are you okay?" A girl asked.

"Fine." Garfield sat up. The two let go, and he swiped at his forehead. It and his wife beater were soaked with cold sweat. Taking a few deep breaths, Garfield faintly smelled pizza. "Just a dream." As he sat there, the dream returned to him. It had involved a fight with someone he guessed was a bad guy, and a surprise rescue by a ghost panther. As dreams go, unusually lucid.

"Great," a sleepy-sounding boy grumbled, and letting go of him, stood up and walked away.

"You're sure you're okay?" The girl asked again.

"I'm fine, Lily, relax," Garfield said, but he shot her a reassuring smile as he got up. He put one hand on the hammock, and almost fell down again when it swung.

"You can see it, right?" Lily whispered—or rather, Zanna disguised as Lily.

"Wouldn't matter if I could, love. Never been good with hammocks."

"Okay." She got it, good. "It's not that hard if you can just stay balanced. Here."

She reached around him to hold the hammock still. Gingerly, Garfield turned and sat in it. The hammock rocked, and he grabbed at the sides. The back of his hand collided with Zanna's face, drawing a grunt from her. Apologizing under his breath, Garfield turned sideways very slowly, one hand gripping the side of the canvas. Even with Zanna holding it, the contraption nearly tipped Garfield out four more times before he found his center of balance.

"Thanks, sorry, night," Garfield whispered, as Zanna let go.

"You're welcome, it's fine, sleep tight."

She walked away, and Garfield tried to relax. The hammock rocked a little, and he seized the sides convulsively. No, no, he wasn't tipping over, just relax. He nearly laughed; his greatest worry had gone from a robotic apocalypse to hostile powerful aliens to falling out of bed. Akra hunting almost felt fun_. _For a second, Garfield hesitated. Something seemed wrong with that thought. Then the feeling vanished, and shrugging it off, he went to sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Pai Zhua Academy, August 24<strong>**th**

Zanna walked down the steps after "Casey," accompanied by the rest of the Jungle Fury Rangers. They were pretty far along in their own timeline; even Dom was on the team. All of them wore disturbingly blank expressions. As they headed deeper under Pai Zhua Academy, Zanna's hand went through a cobweb, and she shuddered and swiped at it. Even though she didn't actually mind spiders—eight-legged creatures were all pretty cool in her book—that clingy stuff was best admired from a distance.

"I came down here in my dream last night," Garfield said. He kept one hand on the wall, probably for balance. "I thought I heard a voice. Turned out Dai Shi was waiting for me. We fought, and he was about to destroy me when a Panther spirit tackled him. When he left, I looked for the one who had cast it, but all I saw was a silhouette. Then I woke up."

"Weird," RJ said, subdued. They finally reached the room where Dai Shi's box had been kept, and "Casey" went up to the frieze of the ancient battle. The others looked around the room, as if they expected Dai Shi to leap out of the shadows. Running a hand over the carved figures, "Casey" paused. Slowly, he brushed cobwebs and dust off the far end of the wall, uncovering a carving of a woman with the head of a big cat. He froze.

There was a flash of light behind the group, and they all whirled around to see Master Mao's ghost standing in front of the stairs. He nodded towards the frieze, with a strange, almost nostalgic expression.

"I was wondering when one of you would notice her."

"Who is she?" "Casey" asked. "I had a dream about her last night."

"Her name is Klaw. She was one of the ancient masters—the greatest, in fact, despite her young age," Master Mao said.

Zanna stifled a snort, and noticed "Casey's" eyebrows shoot up. Fortunately, it looked enough like being impressed for him to get away with it. Everyone else just looked generically awed, except for Theo, who wore a frown. Whether it was confusion or skepticism wasn't clear.

"She mastered every feline technique, and even created her own, the Panther Technique," Master Mao continued, beginning to pace.

Akra influence prompted Zanna to speak up. "I wish I could have met her—she sounds awesome!"

"So why didn't the ancient masters win back then, if they had someone that good?" Theo asked, folding his arms.

"Klaw did manage to best Dai Shi. However, when the time came to destroy him, she faltered. She couldn't strike her own father down—but he felt no such loyalty, and destroyed Klaw."

"What?" Everyone exclaimed at once.

"Dai Shi had a family?" Dom asked.

"Klaw was placed under a curse for failing Pai Zhua in its hour of need—her spirit was forbidden from entering the Spirit World until Dai Shi was conquered. According to legend, when Dai Shi awakens, one with a feline animal spirit will be able to restore Klaw to physical form, so she can restore her honor," Mao finished.

"That's terrible!" Zanna protested, with a grain or two of sincerity. She stifled them as soon as she recognized them; she couldn't feel sorry for an Akra, especially not one who exerted so much control over the timeline without even being present.

The others looked equally saddened—well, "Casey" made an odd noise, which drew a look from Master Mao, but he covered it up quickly.

"Is that it? Does anyone know how to find Klaw? I have Tiger spirit; I could restore her!" He exclaimed.

"It is a dangerous undertaking. When I was a cub, a young Leopard tried to restore her, and fell into a coma for three weeks."

"I don't care!" "Casey" retorted. He threw a sickeningly soppy glance at the carving. "I feel like this is my destiny, Master."

Apparently this was all the reassurance Master Mao needed, for he proceeded to describe a fairly stereotypical necromancy ceremony. Candles, moonlight, the woods—and a little Animal Spirit summoning just to fit the theme. "Casey" barely waited for him to finish before he started to leave the chamber.

"Casey, you can't!" Theo interrupted.

"Not a good idea, me compadre," RJ added.

"So, neither of you are going to help me?" "Casey" asked Theo and Zanna rhetorically. "You have feline animal spirits, too. No? Fine, _worry_ all you want. Bye." Zanna caught him by the shoulder, but he shook her off and ran up the stairs.

The other four Rangers exchanged worried looks, but nobody followed their teammate. Shaking his head, Master Mao vanished in a puff of mist. But just as Dom started to say something, their morphers started beeping. Pulling his sunglasses out of their pouch, Theo put them on.

"Yeah?" Zanna couldn't hear who was speaking, but Theo looked amused.

"You're fine, Fran, I can hear you loud and clear. What's up?" The smile faded, and Theo nodded curtly. "We're on our way."

"Monster?" Dom asked, as Theo pulled off his Solar Morpher. The Blue Ranger nodded.

"By the harbor. Should we call Casey?"

"We can handle this. He's got enough to worry about," Dom said.

The others nodded, and they all charged up the stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>Woods outside Ocean Bluff<strong>

After what felt like hours of silent watching, Klaw saw the boy stir. Night creatures chirped and whistled around her, the air tasted of loam, and a wind rustled through the trees. It rustled her silky black dress, and the moonlight caught her pale arms and neck. Eyes widening, the boy sat up abruptly, meeting Klaw's golden-eyed gaze.

"You!" He exclaimed. "Klaw!"

"I knew I'd visited the right one. Only one with a Tiger spirit could have the courage to perform the ritual. The others failed because they were overcome by fear, and stopped halfway."

"Fear of what? You? Why?" Casey said, with a little laugh.

Klaw shrugged. "Ghostly reputation, I suppose. Most of them were being dared to do it anyway."

"I can imagine. Guess it's a good thing I hadn't heard of you until the visions started, and from Master Mao." Looking Klaw up and down, he shook his head, his expression awed excitement. "I can't even imagine how much you've seen and done. Were you aware of the normal world as a ghost?"

"A little. Most of it I had to see through the dreams I entered. Speaking of which, you've been dreaming about Dai Shi and his minions a lot—in detail. How is that possible? It's been millennia since he was trapped," Klaw said.

Casey grew serious. "He's escaped. My friends and I could really use your help."

Klaw sat back, and said nothing for a long minute. The wind picked up, sending the leaves rustling across the forest floor and tugging at her raven-black hair. She remembered all too clearly her last fight with Dai Shi; until the last moment, she'd been sure she could get him back. But she couldn't, and he was willing to do anything to her if she stood against him.

"I failed once," the Akra host said slowly, "If I face him again, I'll lose my spirit entirely."

"You won't be alone," Casey tried to reassure her. "I'm a Power Ranger—so are the rest of us. Together we'll be unstoppable."

"I . . . I can't. I just can't!"

She sprang to her feet and ran off into the woods. Casey pursued, shouting her name, and she heard him trip. Startled, she glanced back to see him pick himself up, muttering darkly about the stupid woods, and keep running.

Klaw kept going, but shot glances back at her pursuer every once in a while. Not to see whether Casey was following; she could hear him quite clearly. How could a Pai Zhua student be so noisy and clumsy? Much less someone actually capable of fighting Dai Shi? Reaching a clearing, she slowed to a halt and waited for him to catch up.

"Why won't you help us?" He demanded, slowing to a halt.

"How can I? Evil or not, he's still my father," Klaw retorted. "Leave me alone!" She whirled and tried to palm-strike him at the neck. He caught the blow and grabbed Klaw by both arms.

Jerking her close, he glared into her eyes. This close, though, Klaw noticed there was something oddly distant about his stare, as if he was looking past her, not at her.

When Casey spoke, his voice was low and intent. "Because you have to finish what you started ten thousand years ago."

Klaw struggled, but Casey wouldn't let go of her. With a feline snarl of fury, she ripped free of his grasp, shoving him to the ground, and leaped onto a low tree branch. Before Casey could keep arguing, something began to beep. Scrambling to his feet, he pulled a pair of red-rimmed sunglasses out of his pocket. He put them on, and spoke into a small attached microphone.

"Yeah?"

"Red Ranger," a man's voice came through loudly enough for Klaw to hear. Her heart skipped a beat; it was a different, younger man's voice, but just those two words told her who was speaking. Dai Shi had taken a new human form.

"How—" Casey began, but Dai Shi cut him off.

"I have all four of your fellow Rangers. Surrender yourself to me or I will destroy them!"

The glade was silent for a few moments. Somewhere in the distance, a lonely night bird twittered. Klaw was holding her breath, watching Casey anxiously for his reaction. She already knew what her father would do if Casey gave in, and she couldn't bear the thought. She'd barely known the other teenager for an hour, but already she felt the beginnings of something powerful for him.

"All right," Garfield said at last. "Don't hurt them, I'm coming."

"Casey, don't," Klaw protested, as the Red Ranger pulled off his sunglasses.

"You know, when you saved me in my dream, I thought you were the one who could destroy Dai Shi once and for all," he said coldly. "You seemed so brave and strong then. Looks like I was wrong. You're nothing but a coward." He ran off.

Klaw dropped out of the tree with surprisingly little grace. Picking herself up, she saw Casey stumble away into the darkness. The horrible realization that after more than a thousand years of lonely undeath she was about to lose her one friend—or maybe more—fell upon her. She felt a howl rising up inside her, and soon it burst out like the roar of a lion. The force threw her to her knees as she screamed at the sky.

Falling silent, she let her head drop down to her chest, and looked at her hands. Her heart pounded in her ears. It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair. Why was she always the one the fate of the world depended on? She hadn't lived a normal life, hadn't had so much as a real friend since her mother died, and that had been when she was five. Since then she'd had to deal with being a prodigy, and then her father's betrayal of Pai Zhua. Nobody saw her as just a girl. Even Casey was only interested in her as someone who could stop Dai Shi.

Did he? It had seemed like Dai Shi was an afterthought. He seemed more interested in her, and even after she tried to run away, he'd wanted her to finish what she'd started, not just defeat the enemy. He'd even gone to save his teammates even if it meant sacrificing himself.

Klaw's hands clenched into fists. If someone had faith in her, she couldn't let them down. Standing, she started to walk, then run. Casey's path was easy to follow—broken branches, trampled bushes, and scuff marks where he'd clearly fallen down. A little too clear, in fact.

Something was wrong here—something Klaw wasn't quite sure of. Her mind drifted back to a part of her life she'd been repressing. She couldn't forget being an Akra, but it didn't help her pretend to be Dai Shi's daughter. No, remember orientation, she told herself; she might not be genetically related, but she'd rewritten this timeline to make things so. It was just as real as anything else that had happened to her.

But something else she'd learned at orientation came back to her. The Hourglass Rangers, and how they'd break into timelines and disguise themselves as important people—even true loves. The idea made her slow to a halt. It couldn't be. They wouldn't just . . . Casey couldn't be faking.

Still, she couldn't shake the thought. She needed to be sure, but first Dai Shi had to be dealt with. Klaw began to run again. Gradually, the woods faded away around her, replaced by the buildings and streets of Ocean Bluff. It didn't take long at all to find the battlefield. Slowing to a halt, she crouched behind a car and watched.

The four other Rangers, looking battered, were wound with chains and surrounded by Rinshi. Casey stood a few feet away, facing a strange man in black and gold clothes, with a fur cape. This had to be Dai Shi's new host. He was smirking at the Red Ranger.

"How do I know you'll keep your word?" Dai Shi asked, smirking. Taking a deep breath, Casey pulled off his Solar Morpher and tossed it to his enemy, who caught it.

"Casey, no!" A yellow-clad blonde girl yelled at him, struggling in vain.

Rinshi surrounded the Red Ranger, who didn't resist as he was chained up. Klaw forced herself to keep waiting. If her father just kept his word and freed the others, she'd have an easier time rescuing Casey . . .

"Wonderful. Rinshi, destroy them all," Dai Shi ordered.

"You promised!" Casey protested as the Rinshi shoved him to his knees.

"Did I? I believe I said that I'd destroy your teammates if you didn't hand yourself over to me. I never said what would happen if you _did_. Goodbye, Jungle Fury Rangers." Dai Shi even permitted himself a triumphant laugh.

"Don't you dare." Klaw's voice was flat and commanding. Cutting his laugh short, Dai Shi whirled around, and the Rinshi made confused noises. Slowly, she stalked into view, facing the group. Most of the Rangers looked confused, but Casey's expression became hopeful.

"Long time no see, Dad. What poor idiot did that body originally belong to?"

"Klaw," Dai Shi snarled.

"No kidding. Jungle Beast, Spirit Unleashed!" With a burst of dark energy, Klaw morphed. The Rinshi started grunting in fear as she struck her fighting stance. "With the cunning of a panther, Jungle Fury Black Ranger!"

The Rinshi immediately hopped into action, spears at the ready. Dai Shi himself hung back, watching. The foot soldiers were no match for Klaw, who elegantly kicked and punched and threw them aside. They were no tougher than they'd been last time, and she quickly warmed to her work. Every once in a while, one of the Rangers shouted encouragement or admiration for Klaw.

Then, at last, Dai Shi shouted for a retreat. The villains teleported away, leaving Klaw alone in the plaza with the Rangers. They'd already started freeing themselves, so she ran for Casey, who was already getting up. She broke the chains with one blow, and they clattered in a heap on the pavement.

"You came back."

Klaw smiled, biting her lower lip self-consciously. "I had some old business to take care of. Looks like it'll take longer than I hoped, though."

"That's okay. You can work with us," Casey said.

"Really?" Klaw looked around at the others, uncertain.

"Are you kidding? Of course you can fight with us!" Lily said.

"We'd have to be crazy to turn you down," Theo added.

RJ grinned. "Welcome to the team, Klaw."

Trying (and failing) not to sound choked-up, Klaw replied, "Thank you. I won't let you guys down."

She felt a pair of hands close over hers, and looked back at Casey. He looked so sincerely happy; could he really be an Hourglass Ranger? But here, in the well-lit street, she could see clearly that he wasn't looking at her; his eyes were unfocused.

"I know you won't."

Klaw decided to do something she hadn't tried since first creating this timeline. She reached out telepathically, to see if he was sincere. Immediately, she was met with an overwhelming sense of irritation, growing stronger the longer she looked. It felt like a slap; first she was hurt, then angry. How dare this stranger pretend to be her soulmate like this?

"Um, you can let go now," he said.

"Not just yet," Klaw said, in a very different tone than the one she'd used earlier. She jerked the imposter's arms up and out, delivering a kick to the gut as she did. With a grunt of pain, he went down, and she threw him back. The other Rangers started, looking horrified.

"Stop," Klaw ordered. "He's an imposter."

It took direct influence, but the Rangers accepted her words, and turned suspicious glares on the stranger. Panting, not-Casey picked himself up, pulling what looked like a small gyroscope out from under his shirt.

"Thanks, I hated every minute of that. Sands of Time, Rise Up!"

_Garfield stands before a huge, dripping water clock. The hourglass in his hand glows blue, and the sand explodes around him in a blue storm. Swirling wildly, it forms his Ranger suit. A blue, squarish hourglass forms his visor._

"_Cerulean Hourglass Ranger!"_

Klaw glowered. One telepathic command and the Jungle Fury Rangers morphed to fight. The Cerulean Ranger hadn't expected that, and he backed up a step as the group struck a fighting stance. None of them said anything.

As she charged, however, the Yellow Ranger swerved out of line, swinging her bo around to catch Klaw in the stomach. The blow snapped her head forward, and she fell down, winded and bewildered. The other Rangers all halted in synchronization as she lost control briefly. Recovering, they charged the Cerulean Ranger.

The first, RJ, jumped and tried to kick the Hourglass Ranger, but he ducked easily and delivered a powerful uppercut in response. Klaw hadn't been expecting that, but before she could order a countermove, a bo tilted her chin up, stopping her.

"Demorph or I'll make you." That was the Yellow Ranger, not sounding at all like her normal self.

Klaw scowled. "I don't think so." She summoned Dom, who charged at the Yellow Ranger from behind. She ducked, and Klaw only just stopped the White Ranger in time.

"Hey!" The Cerulean Ranger shouted, and Klaw looked over to see the other Rangers just standing still, not attacking. They didn't even react as their opponent waved a hand in front of their visors. "Hello in there? Anyone home?"

"Stop that!" Klaw screamed. Why was this so hard? She couldn't make everybody attack at once, that was way too complicated. Maybe if she just had them all do the same move?

As she started to order the other Rangers to attack again, the Yellow Ranger drew her bo back and whacked her across the side of the head. Stars exploded behind Klaw's eyes, and she collapsed. Dimly, she heard someone talking about a concussion as she lost consciousness.

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

Choosing which Akra to come next in this rewrite took me forever - I had four others picked out and abandoned before I finally settled on this one. Since I've already showcased Yellows and Reds, I wanted something angsty, but as it turned out most of my Blues were either in original teams (which I don't want to introduce yet) or otherwise intertwined with future plot points.


	6. Blue Bay Harbor, August 29, 2003

Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Saban, Zanna was inspired by Pink Lightspeed Ranger's writing, and today's Stu was submitted by Rye Lee.

* * *

><p><strong>Blue Bay Harbor, August 29, 2003<strong>

Rick stood outside the sports gear shop, psyching himself up to open the door and walk inside. He'd already triple-checked to make sure it was the right place, but there was only one Storm Chargers in the area. A breeze ruffled his light brown hair, and tugged at the corners of a paper flyer taped to one window. Someone was inside the shop—he could see red hair—but it had apparently just opened.

Finally, Rick sighed. _Might as well get on with it, _he thought, pushing the door open and walking inside. The redhead turned out to be a woman, who smiled at him as she came around the counter.

"You must be Rick Jacobs," she said, and held out a hand. "Kelly. It's nice to have someone who isn't late, for once." Rick shook her hand and tried to return the smile. Kelly's grin faded. "Is something wrong?"

"No, no, nothing's wrong. Thanks again for hiring me on such short notice," Rick said, glancing around the shop.

"Hey, I could really use the help. Let's get started."

"Hey, Kelly!" A guy's voice rang out from the front of the shop. Rick turned to see five other teenagers—four boys, one girl—come inside. One walked right into a display case, taking it down with a crash.

Rick was the first at his side. "Are you okay?"

"I'm okay, just didn't watch where I was going," he said, as Rick helped him up. "Thanks, bro."

"Guys, this is Rick. He'll be helping fill in when you guys are out," Kelly said, and there were handshakes and introductions all around. The klutz was named Dustin, the girl was Tori, and the other three were Shane, Hunter and Blake.

"Don't worry, we'll stick around until you've got the hang of things," Hunter said, giving Rick an encouraging smile.

"But dude, if there's a sudden mad rush for swim goggles or something, you're on your own," Dustin added, prompting a laugh from everyone. Even Rick had to smile.

_Nobody's been this friendly to me since . . . I don't know, middle school? Then again, they have no idea who—or what—I am. If they did . . . no, I promised not to tell anyone._ His thoughts turned backwards, to the scene of that promise.

_An eleven-year-old Rick found himself standing in the middle of a blackened stone ruin. Around him lay scorched, twisted dead bodies—not human; their fiery skin, batlike wings and horns gave away their demonic nature. A few were encased in chunks of dripping ice, and electricity sizzled through them._

_Rick's memories were fuzzy. He remembered waking up in this place, chained up and surrounded by demons. They'd said something about a deal and "the firstborn of the Fallen One" and tried to kill him, but then his Mom had shown up._

_Through the rubble, Rick glimpsed a yellowy smudge. Breaking into a run, he charged through the ruins of the building—a temple. His Mom lay crumpled on the floor, still morphed, but her helmet was gone. Rick tried to push the debris covering her away, but wasn't strong enough. Hearing the noise, she stirred._

_"Mom?" Rick crouched down beside her._

_"Rick—don't tell," she coughed. A little blood ran from the corner of her mouth. "Don't tell anyone—what you can do. Don't let them see you. Promise me."_

_"Mommy—"_

_"Promise me!"_

_Slowly, Rick nodded. "I promise."_

_His mother coughed again, dramatically, and her morph vanished. With shaking hands, she unstrapped the morpher and shoved it into Rick's hands. Despite her catastrophic wounds and the massive weight on her ribcage, she could still talk coherently._

_"Find my Sensei. H-he'll protect you. Tell him Maria is sorry."_

_"You can tell him yourself, Mommy," Rick protested._

_Maria smiled a little, although tears glittered in her eyes. Gently, she touched Rick's face, and shook her head. As Rick grabbed at her hand, the woman went limp, her eyes sliding shut. A single, diamondlike tear slid down Rick's dirty face._

"Dude, Earth to Rick, come in," Shane said, waving a hand in front of Rick's face.

Rick shook his head, and tried to laugh it off. "Sorry. Zoned for a second."

"Are we that boring?" Tori teased.

Kelly interrupted. "Rick, grab a box of kneepads from the back, will you?"

Rick headed off. As he reached the back of the shop, he heard Kelly speaking in a low voice to the others, and wondered what she was saying. As far as she knew, he was fresh out of the foster care system—and she'd probably heard some of the rumors. Going through twenty-three foster homes wasn't exactly normal, especially not with all the "accidents" that had happened there. Finding the box, he returned, seeing all of the previously cheery teens looking sober.

"Dude, that's heavy," Dustin said, shaking his head.

"Twisted," Shane agreed.

"Are these good?" Rick asked, coming up behind them. Everyone jumped.

"Yeah, fine," Zanna said. Immediately, the other Rangers moved to help him, starting a couple of different conversations at once.

"You like any sports?"

"Been staying here long?"

"I can show you where those go if you want."

"Okay, okay, one at a time," Rick protested laughingly. "Uh . . . Shane, where do these go?"

As Shane showed him, Dustin moved away from the group and started talking to Kelly. Rick didn't realize he was staring until Shane said his name. Quickly, he turned his attention to the shelf. He'd just begun stocking it when something started to beep. The teens exchanged alarmed looks. As one, they headed for the door.

"Hey! You guys just got here!" Kelly protested.

"Sorry, Kelly!" Tori called, as the door slammed shut behind them.

Rick and Kelly stood alone in the shop, looking at each other awkwardly.

"And that's what I have to deal with every week. Please tell me you don't have anywhere to go."

"Wild horses couldn't drag me away," Rick replied fervently. Kelly gave him a strange look, and he flushed. "I-is there anything else I can do right now?"

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. I barely know her. But . . . no, I can't let myself fall for her. I've got too many enemies—and I couldn't bear it if she rejected me too._

"Finish setting up that display. I'll be right back," Kelly replied, heading towards the back. A bag of garbage waited for her, and seizing it, she pushed the back door open with a shoulder. As Rick got to work, she headed out a side door.

Rick heard it swing shut as he focused on the kneepads again. In the distance, he thought he heard thunder, which puzzled him since it had been bright and sunny when he'd arrived. Finishing the display, he stepped outside. The sun was still blazing down on him.

That was when he heard the scream. He wheeled towards the sound, which came from the alley right next to the shop. The one Kelly had just walked into. His hand slipped into his pants pocket, closing around the device inside.

_Do I use it? If I just go in there as myself, she'll know. This will hide my face . . . but Mom didn't want it to be used. I could attract even more monsters._

The second cry made his decision for him. He glanced around to make sure nobody was looking, and strapped on the morpher.

"Fire Storm, Ranger Form!"

Flames licked up around his body, forming a yellow-orange suit. Almost instinctively, a pair of wings unfolded from his shoulders, looking black against the brightly colored suit. He swooped up onto the roof of Storm Chargers, and looked down. Kelzak Furies swarmed around Kelly. She was trying to fend them off, but even if she'd had any real training she was outnumbered. Rick stood.

"Hey!" He yelled. All of the foot soldiers stopped and looked up at him. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size!"

Leaping into the air, Rick dove down towards the group, arms raised. Flames shot from his right hand and ice magic from his left, and he took out two huge swathes of the Kelzaks before they could even react. Only a few surrounding Kelly were left.

Rick touched down, and the wings folded back into his shoulderblades. The Kelzak Furies recoiled, grabbing ahold of Kelly. She didn't move as the Yellorange Ranger advanced, though she looked very pale and shaken.

"Let go of the lady if you want to live, creeps."

Kelly's captor put a blade to her throat instead. Rick's visor shot open, and lightning bolts fired from his eyes, instantly vaporizing the Kelzak Furies where they stood. Kelly flinched, but she was untouched. She swayed and fainted—Rick had to lunge forward to catch her.

* * *

><p>Garfield rounded the corner after the other Ninja Rangers, following Shane's shouts. The monster had yelled something about Kelly, so after he'd fled, the Rangers had made a rush for Storm Chargers. He almost ran into Shane, staggered and caught himself on a wall. He'd done all right for himself in the fight, though he'd accidentally punched a couple of his "teammates" along with the monsters.<p>

"Who are you?" Shane demanded.

"Dude, is that what I think it is?" Garfield asked, Akra control filling him in on what he was looking at. "When did we get another Power Ranger?"

"You've got me," Hunter said, sounding mystified.

"Kelly!" Tori shoved past the guys and ran to the stranger. Garfield followed along, keeping a hand on the wall for balance. The others pushed past him, and everyone gathered around the stranger, who crouched on the ground. Reaching out, Garfield found a warm face just above ground level. Zanna? She'd become Kelly on arrival—their conversation while the Akra had been busy had confirmed that.

"She fainted, I think," Rick said—in spite of Akra control pressuring him to not recognize the voice, Garfield knew. Who else could it be?

"Kelly?" Tori asked anxiously. A faint groan rose from the ground.

"You guys sound familiar," Rick said. " . . . wait—Shane? Tori? Dustin? Blake? Hunter?"

Hunter sighed. A whoosh signaled his visor opening. "Cat's out of the bag, I guess. And you are?"

Another whoosh. "Rick," Garfield commented. "Woah, what are the odds—"

"Quiet!" Rick snapped abruptly. An awkward silence fell. When Rick spoke again, his tone was urgent. "Guys, that monster's back, in the warehouse section. Don't ask questions, just go!"

After a moment, the Rangers rose. Garfield felt his legs moving of their own accord. He let them carry him back out of the alley, and stopped there. He was not ready for another Ranger fight so soon—plus he thought it was about time to take this guy down. The Akra kept pushing him telepathically, making Garfield's head buzz, but he dug in his heels and resisted. After a few minutes, the Akra control faded, and he slumped against the wall with a sigh of relief. Feeling weird in his borrowed Ranger suit, he demorphed, and grasped his Gyro Morpher beneath his shirt. This was probably going to be the best opportunity he was going to get.

"Kelly? Are you okay?" Rick's voice had gone all mushy, and Garfield gagged.

"F-fine," Zanna stammered. "What happened?"

Rick started to answer, but cut himself off abruptly with a string of curses in Mandarin, Latin, Sumerian, Japanese and a demonic-sounding language. There was a crash and a thump, like a body hitting plywood.

"You're not Kelly! What have you done with her?" Rick roared.

Garfield didn't stop to think. Already running, he jerked his Gyro Morpher out from under his shirt. "Sands of Time, Rise Up!"

As he rounded the corner, a huge ball of ice slammed into his chest, flinging him flat on his back. His suit sparked a little. Gasping, he rolled and scrambled upright, striking a fighting stance. His Hourglass Revolver hung at his hip, and he reached for it.

"Oh no you don't!" Lightning slammed the Cerulean Ranger to the ground again.

The jolt shook him, sending tingling pain up and down his limbs. Muttering a curse word, Garfield tried to get up, but his limbs trembled uncontrollably.

The Yellorange Ranger stalked towards him, footsteps rasping on the pavement. "Friendly bit of advice—don't try to sneak up on someone with precognition." His voice wasn't muffled; he'd left his visor open.

"Nobody told me beforehand," Garfield retorted. He could feel his gun pinned beneath his leg, but didn't dare draw it. He couldn't tell if Rick would see from this angle.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the Pope, can't you tell?" Garfield growled, pushing himself up on an elbow. He swore under his breath. The Yellorange Ranger planted a boot on his shoulder, pushing him down again.

"Don't make fun of me, Hourglass Ranger. I could kill you like that." He snapped his fingers. "But first, what have you done with Kelly?"

"Saved her from your creepiness."

"You pathetic—"

"I mean, what kind of a freak are you?"

Rick stiffened, and Garfield realized he'd struck a chord. Remembering everything Kelly had told him earlier, he went on. "I mean, how do you go through more than a dozen foster homes before someone guesses, oh, maybe you're the problem!"

"Shut up." Rick's voice shook. "Shut up right now!"

"Were you just killing them yourself? I'd buy it; you don't like being reminded that you aren't the center of the universe. Ever stop to wonder why nobody likes you, freak?"

"Stop it!" Rick shrieked, stumbling back.

Just like before, he fell silent as he flashed back to some tragic event in his past. In one quick motion, Garfield yanked the gun out and fired, blasting Rick with gas. He yelled and recoiled, coughing, but apparently the only power he didn't have was super breath. However, Rick tried several of his other powers anyway.

A torrent of flame slammed Garfield to the concrete, and his Hourglass Revolver shot out of his hand. Hearing a tinkling noise, he rolled quickly. A volley of icicles swept past him and shattered against the pavement. Rick's morph vanished with a whoosh, and he collapsed.

Gasping, Garfield struggled to his feet and waited for a moment. No one was coming. Silence reigned over the alley, and the gas dissipated in a breeze. With a sigh of relief, Garfield holstered his Hourglass Revolver and demorphed. Where was that pocket dimension thingy? Oh, right, in his pocket.

"Containment Jar. Aaaand over you go."

Kneeling beside the Akra host, Garfield rolled him over onto his stomach. Rick groaned a little as the former soldier peeled his shirt up. Feeling around, Garfield discovered an enormous Akra pulsing on Rick's back.

"Woah, big fella this time. Guess you'd have to be, all those superpowers. Eh, I'll have to wake up Zanna to find out what color you are. Bet a quid you're yellow." He hesitated. Raising his voice, he called, "Zanna? Are you all right?"

A soft groan answered him. "H-here," she said. "I think I'm okay. Nothing's bleeding or broken."

"Good. I finished off the Akra." Garfield kept peeling the creature off. Tendrils wound around his fingers, but he slid them off and crammed them into the Containment Jar.

"Good." He heard unsteady footsteps shuffling towards him. They stopped on the other side of the downed Rick. ". . . it's green."

"Green? I thought you said they could only be prime colors."

"I did. It's still green. I guess it's a hybrid?" Zanna said, sounding not at all certain. "Blue for the tragic backstory and yellow for all the powers."

"Oh. Didn't know they could do that."

"Neither did I."

"Sounds like we've got some surprises in store for us." The symbiote was just slightly too big, and Garfield had to cram it in, but he managed. The Akra writhed in the jar, and he slammed an arm down on the lid. "I hate surprises."

* * *

><p>Trivia: If allowed to continue, Rick would have eventually been opposed by his father, a fallen angel (which for some reason wouldn't mean "demon," but "angsty angel"), along with the cult who kidnapped him in that first flashback.<p> 


	7. Angel Grove, October 17th, 1995

**Angel Grove High School, October 17th, 1995**

Zanna walked up to Angel Grove High, and glanced around. She was disguised as Kat this time, which meant sometime between 1995 and 1997, most likely. Before her capture by the Akra she'd only had guesses to go on, but their hive mind had confirmed the Rangers' identities. Glancing around, she quickly spotted the other Rangers—Rocky, oddly enough, was off by himself. No, wait, he was talking to Miss Appleby. And yes, beside her stood a slim blonde, eyeing the Ranger. Just the sight of her set Zanna's teeth on edge. Pretty in the most generic, overpowering way—just like the Akra had done for her.

"Hey, what's going on?" Zanna asked, joining the group. Rocky wore a red shirt, which probably meant that this was 1995.

"Oh, hello Kat. This is Alyssa Richardson, she's new in town, and I was hoping some of you and your friends could help show her around," Miss Appleby said, putting a hand on Alyssa's shoulder. Zanna smiled at the Akra host, and noted a tattoo showing on her shoulder. It was a green dragon, and it looked like it continued across her back.

"It's great to meet you, Alyssa."

"You can call me Aly, actually," the blonde replied. Her voice was so sweet it nearly made Zanna wince. Rocky actually did wince, covering it with a fake sneeze. He recovered quickly, just as the bell rang. Good, he had to be Garfield. That meant there was no reason to drag this out. "You said you were in Biology One, Rocky?"

"Well, would you look at the _time_," Zanna commented, giving him a significant look.

"Yeah, we'll be late for class if we don't get going." Rocky said, and looked to Aly. "I can show you the way, if you'd like."

"Thanks." Aly giggled a little, taking the proffered arm.

Zanna hesitated. Had she guessed wrong? She and Garfield really needed some way of identifying each other covertly. For now it probably wasn't safe to keep hinting—if she'd guessed wrong, Aly could take over Rocky and attack her.

"Okay, bye," she said, and Rocky and Aly headed off.

"I knew it," Mrs. Appleby said, with an air of self-congratulation.

"Right," Zanna mumbled, distracted.

"Don't just stand there, Kat, you'll be late!"

Zanna hurried off reluctantly. One of the unexpected bonuses of being a Ranger had been no more high school. She hoped this Akra was the kind that liked an actual plot.

* * *

><p><strong>Hourglass Facility, July 15<strong>**th****, 2010**

"What do you have?" The Akra Queen asked, looking around the meeting table at Tiffany and Tristan.

"Here," Tristan said, slapping a folder onto the table. His mother took it, flipping it open and starting to go through the documents. "Everything I could get on the Cerulean Ranger."

She pulled out a photo and held it up, eyeing it critically. In it, Garfield—pre-scarring—had his arms around two other people, a man and a woman his age. All three wore pilot uniforms and standing in front of a plane.

"Not bad," she said. "Maybe we should have taken him in after all."

Tristan snorted. "Too late for that now."

Instead of answering, his mother looked to Tiffany. "What about you? What have you discovered about our runaway?"

Shaking her head, Tiffany slid a much thicker file over to the Queen. "I can't understand it. We gave her exactly what she wanted, and now she's attacking us."

"Yeah, that's weird," the Queen murmured, leafing through the pages.

"What's been going on here?" Tristan asked. "Any news?"

His mother scowled and shut both folders. "One of our brand-new hybrids vanished the other day. Guess who he saw last before transmissions cut out?"

Tiffany groaned, and Tristan punched the table hard enough to shake papers out of the folders.

"How do they keep doing this?" He demanded. "We have to stop them, now!"

"Calm down, they're not doing much better than any of the other Hourglass Rangers," the Queen said, gathering the papers back together. "We just have to figure out what makes them tick."

Tristan was unconvinced. "But how are we going to do that if we don't even know they're there until it's too late?"

"Maybe we wouldn't be too late if you could jump in and fight like you're always saying you're going to do," Tiffany put in.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who let them just walk away after they took out Jorge!"

"Well maybe if I'd had a little help they wouldn't have been able to portal out!"

The Queen rubbed her temples, wincing. "Kids, calm down, both of you."

The two, who'd started leaning across the table at each other, didn't seem to hear her.

"You're so slow!"

"That's because you never give me any help! Do you think I can handle the Ironwood Project all by myself and deal with Hourglass?" Tiffany snapped.

"We have time travel, space ships, and access to other Akra with tons of superpowers! It takes _effort_ to fail this hard!"

"Are you calling me a traitor?"

Tristan snorted. "No, I never assume malice when stupidity can explain it."

"STOP!"

The two went silent immediately. Eyes blazing red, the Queen stood up, glowering at both of them. Tiffany looked at her hands, Tristan scowled at the table.

"We have enough to deal with just trying to manage the Akra. This is no time to start fighting amongst ourselves. Tiffany, I want you to finish those hybrids and get back to Ironwood. Tristan, keep everything running, I'll monitor the telepathic channels and let you know the second an Hourglass Ranger pops up. Got it?"

Both teens muttered surly assents. Eyes fading to a calmer orange, the Queen took up the folders. "Good. Let's get back to work."

* * *

><p><strong>Just Outside Angel Grove High School, October 17th, 1995<strong>

Zanna lingered outside the school, checking her watch as the other students swept past. Aly had to come out soon; Zanna was sure she wouldn't object to being shown around town by one of her new friends. Just in case she'd try to get her away from Rocky, but if it was Garfield hopefully that would snap him out of it.

"Kat?" Showtime. Zanna turned and smiled at Aly as she hurried down the stairs towards her. Rocky was carrying her books. He seemed to be a little hesitant coming down, meaning it probably was Garfield after all.

"Aly, hi. Now that school's out I was wondering if you might want a look around Angel Grove," she said.

"Oh . . . I'd love to, but Ms. Cornell's loaded us down with homework, and Rocky promised to help me study," Aly said apologetically.

Was Garfield planning something of his own? Zanna glanced at him, but his expression was only sheepish. She laughed a little.

"Work before play, I understand—but don't bore her to death before we can hang out," she teased.

The Akra seemed to think their little scene was over; Zanna felt a mental push to leave, and grudgingly obeyed, waving and walking away.

Well, so much for both a 'plot' and a quick chance to take out the Akra. Now she'd have to try something else.

"Katherine!" That was Rocky (or Garfield as Rocky). Turning back, Zanna saw the teenager hurrying towards her. Cautious but brisk; no doubt, it was Garfield.

"Yeah?" She asked, folding her arms. "About time you talked to me."

Garfield halted before her. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to isolate and dispose of an Akra, which I presume you've been doing? Presume because you haven't told me?"

"Oh yeah? You haven't exactly been including me in your plans either," Garfield retorted, drawing himself up. "Why are you gunning so hard for Aly? Seemed like you wanted to take her out the moment we met."

"It would have saved us a lot of time, wouldn't it?"

Garfield stared at her. Or rather slightly to her left; it looked really strange on Rocky's face. When he spoke, it was slowly and deliberately.

"Why are you so eager to get rid of this Akra? She's not hurting anybody."

"Yet. I know this kind. She's a Yellow, she wants everyone to love her and she'll do anything to get that love."

"Wait—weren't you a Yellow?" Garfield's tone sharpened into suspicion.

"Yes, which is why I know that this kind isn't as harmless as it seems!"

"So it's personal."

"No! I just know what her type is capable of!" Zanna protested. "But why would it matter if it was? We have to get rid of the Akra anyway. The sooner we take her out, the sooner we can get on to the next one."

"And there's my other problem," Garfield interrupted. "I don't know about you, but I am tired. As soon as we turn on Aly, we have to run. Then it's off into another dimension where we have to fight off monsters or get tortured or write sappy poetry—and if you hadn't noticed,_ I am newly blind_! Fighting is not easy for me!"

Now it was Zanna's turn to glare accusingly. "So this isn't really about me. You just want a break."

Garfield threw up his hands. "Would it be too much to ask? Comparatively speaking, this Akra's pretty harmless. Plus this will give us time to see if she has any Deus ex Machina abilities, prevent any nasty surprises."

Zanna was just opening her mouth to reply when Aly's voice rang out.

"Rocky? Where are you?"

The two stood in silence.

"If you're glaring at me, I'm blind, it isn't going to do much good," Garfield said quietly.

"Ugh—fine! Go enjoy your pervy underage romance, but don't come crying to me if she starts actually controlling you. Assuming she hasn't already." Zanna spun on her heel and stormed away.

"Za—Kat!" Garfield caught himself just in time. Zanna didn't look back, but she heard footsteps and then Aly's anxious voice, and sensed the Akra's emotions through her distant control. Concern, mostly, with a little confusion. She might have gone ahead and morphed right then, gotten it over with before Garfield could do anything, but she was honestly unsure if he'd have backed her up. So instead she stormed away, seething.

* * *

><p><strong>Ernie's Juice Bar, October 19th<strong>

The Rangers were gathered in Ernie's Juice Bar, finishing up a group study session. It was packed with kids, and the noise was distracting. Garfield-as-Rocky checked his watch, and began stuffing books into his bag.

"Off to meet the new girl again?" Aisha asked, with a deliberately casual air. Garfield didn't reply, or even look up.

"You've gotten pretty cozy with Aly lately," Adam added, grinning.

"I'm just showing her around, no big deal," Garfield said. The Rangers exchanged a mischievous look.

"Yeah, in two days you've shown her the Juice Bar, the ice skating rink," Aisha began.

"The movies, the park," Tommy added.

"Every single part of the school," Adam chimed in.

"And I bet you were planning on showing her the Halloween Dance tomorrow night, weren't you?" Aisha finished.

Garfield's ears turned pink, and he laughed awkwardly. "Maybe. She's nice."

None of the group could argue with that: Aly had been nothing but sweetness and light to everyone she met. Then the door opened, and speak of the devil, Aly walked in. Garfield got up quickly, knocking his book bag over and spilling its contents all over the floor. Concerned, Aly darted over as Garfield started cleaning up.

"Don't worry about it," Aisha interrupted, coming around and picking the stuff up. "You two go have fun; we'll drop this off at your house for you."

"Thanks."

Aly and Garfield left the Juice Bar. They were quiet until about halfway down the sidewalk, just enjoying each other's company. Garfield liked it better that way; the occasional side glances or awkward cuteness was comparatively easy to deal with. In fact, this whole mission was turning out a lot better than some of their early ones. He hadn't had to fight any monsters yet, and Aly's main goal seemed to be making everything as nice as possible for everyone around her. Mind control aside, that wasn't even a bad goal.

"So . . . how's everything?" Aly asked at last.

"Fine. What about you?"

"Good—but I wish I knew what I did to make Kat mad at me." Aly grew visibly glum.

"She's not mad at you," Garfield protested, but Aly shook her head.

"I can tell. She's been avoiding me."

Garfield lowered his head as if looking away. "Yeah, I guess. Maybe she's just busy, though. Probably has other things on her mind."

"Then she's the only one."

They rounded the corner, and Aly froze, jerking Garfield to an abrupt halt. Before he could ask why, his ears told him: there was a sound like a whip cracking, something exploded in front of them, and a woman let out a cry of pain. She sounded familiar . . .

"Shocked? I would be too, in your current situation." Garfield heard an electrical crackle and bang as the monster laughed at its own joke.

"Katherine!" Aly yelled, and releasing Garfield, ran towards the monster.

"Aly, don't!" Garfield protested, running after her. He heard another electrical whoosh, and then a louder boom than before. Aly screamed, as did Kat. Under Akra influence, Garfield raised his arms, and felt Aly drop limply into them. He almost dropped her, but caught himself in time and laid her down gently. She groaned.

"Aw, how cute. An idiot," the monster said smugly.

Garfield straightened, reaching behind himself. He felt a buckle-shaped morpher materialize in his hand. "You're going to pay for that. It's Morphin' Time! Tyrannosaurus!"

Ooh, red. He morphed and struck a fighting stance. There was a sound like a whipcrack, and something hot lashed across his chest. An electric shock jolted through him, flinging him flat on his back. What felt like cables started wrapping around his arms before he could pick himself up.

Garfield struggled for the gun he could feel strapped to his hip, but the monster guessed what he was doing and pulled his arms up over his head. He heard the sizzle of that electrical whip again, and twisted aside just in time to avoid getting hit in the head. The grass next to his helmet crackled and smoked.

"Leave my friends alone! Pterodactyl!" Kat yelled, and Garfield sensed a pink flash as she morphed.

Laughing, the monster teleported away, cables dropping Garfield flat on his back. He demorphed and sat up, cursing under his breath. He could still feel the burns. Aly groaned, and Garfield scrambled over to her, dropping down beside her.

"Aly," he panted, scooping her head and shoulders into his lap. She stirred, but didn't wake up. Kat demorphed, and stumbled over to them.

"Sh-she took a shot for me. This is all my fault."

"Let's get her to the hospital," Garfield replied. He gathered Aly in his arms, shrugging off Kat's attempts to help.

"Let me—"

"This would never have happened if you hadn't treated her so badly!" He snapped. "She was just trying to be your friend, what's your problem? Were you just jealous?"

"Yes! Of course I was jealous!" Kat yelled. "She popped in, and you stopped spending time with anyone else!"

Garfield hesitated. The Akra had given him a dramatic pause, but he was also starting to wonder if any of Zanna was coming through on this speech. It was hard to tell. He wished he could see the look on her face, but all he had was the sound of her breathing hard, and the mingled smells of sweat and ash from the monster fight.

"You were jealous of me?" Garfield asked, the Akra making his voice small and surprised.

"You really didn't notice?"

Garfield lowered his head. He wondered just how bad the Akra's 'injuries' were if she was okay having them engage in a dramatic revelation scene before she got any medical treatment. "No, I didn't. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I should have said something. Come on, let's get her to a hospital," Kat said, in a much quieter, sadder voice.

"Right." Garfield started to pick the Akra up. Then he stopped. "Actually, let's not."

"What?"

Garfield dropped Aly, who grunted as she hit the ground. "I think that's a long enough delay. Sorry for waiting this long, I should have stopped things before the Host got hurt. But too late to go back now, so let's just take down this Akra now, shall we?"

There was a brief silence. Kat broke it, the remnants of her near-crying fit still in her voice, but trying to sound firm. "It's about time. Don't think this means I forgive you, Garfield. Could have saved ourselves and the Host a lot of pain if you'd listened to me."

"Yeah, I know." Garfield pulled out his Gyro Morpher. "Sands of Time, Rise Up!"

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

According to the original profile, Aly had telekinesis and eye beams, but they didn't make it into this version of the story. I didn't feel they were needed, since her primary modus operandi was being nice and likable, and of course, a Sue doesn't need special powers to be a Sue.


	8. Turtle Cove, May 13th, 2002

**Rock Quarry outside Turtle Cove, May 13th, 2002**

Garfield did not like his newest disguise. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but the second he entered it, he felt like he'd been coated in rubber. At least his hearing and sense of smell were okay. He wished the disguise generator would at least improve his existing senses if it was going to take anything away. Reaching up, he ran a hand over his face. The nose was a lot longer and more sticky-outy than normal—in fact, it felt more like a muzzle. Horse? No, unicorn? There was definitely a horn, but the nose felt more wolf-ish. Before he could finish playing detective, he heard voices.

"What makes you so sure it's here?" The accent was Eastern European, though Garfield wasn't sure exactly which one. It sounded close, too.

A woman replied. "This is where the map ends, Master."

Okay, bad guys then. That was different. Maybe he wouldn't have to play love interest this time, that'd be fun.

"Then where is the Zord?" "Master" demanded.

"Close, I'm sure of it."

Garfield mentally went over the list of villains Zanna had described to him. Male boss, female lackey, another male grunt, that was pretty much all of them except Rita. He took a cautious step forward, and his foot crunched on gravel. Rock quarry, most likely, that was also too generic to narrow anything down.

Something else moved behind him, he heard rustling and the tiny plinks of rocks streaming down a hill. He "looked" back, already feeling Akra influence. It was different this time, less flowery. The smell was heavier, more artificial. He wondered whether that meant anything.

It was pulling him in that direction, so back he crept, away from the other villains. Guessing a slope was before him, Garfield managed not to fall over when it finally came. He reached back and drew out what felt like a sword, or possibly a scimitar since the blade seemed to be curved. The rustling stopped, but he still came on. His extended hand found a boulder. Quick as a flash he reached around it and pinned something to the other side with his arm. It felt like a neck and shoulders, thin and smaller than him. Their owner let out a startled yelp and struggled. Female, from the sound of it. Garfield dragged it up and over the rock, bringing his sword to his prisoner's throat.

"Zen-Aku? What are you doing up there?" The Master character shouted.

Garfield swung around. "Catching eavesdroppers."

He marched the girl, who'd stopped struggling, down the slope and gave her a shove. He heard her slip and sprawl on the ground with a grunt.

"I'm not afraid of you Orgs." She didn't sound like it, either, there wasn't so much as a tremor in her voice. In fact she sounded kind of bored. Granted she had no reason to be since she was in control. Orgs? Aha, this was that Wild team Zanna had mentioned.

Master Org laughed. "Then you're even more foolish than most humans. What did you think you were doing?"

"What, I can't go for a walk without having ulterior motives now?"

"How many people just wander into a rock quarry in the middle of the night? And what is it you are holding?"

Zen-Aku heard a scuffle, and lunged forward, catching the girl's arms and holding her still as she struggled. There was a metallic clink, like a jewelry chain being snapped.

"That's mine!" The girl actually sounded upset. "Give it back!"

"An Animal Crystal?" Master Org was surprised. "How convenient. Maybe we won't kill you just yet, human."

"My name is Stefanee," She snapped. "And that belongs to me."

"You don't even know how to use it," Master Org replied dismissively.

Garfield felt Stefanee raise her arm, and jerked it back, but not before he heard a tinkling sound. She recoiled. Reaching forward, Garfield found the Animal Crystal in her hands before she jerked away.

Master Org advanced, and by the direction of his voice, bent down to Stefanee's level. "I will make a deal with you, 'Stefanee.' If you bring forth the Bat Wildzord for us, I will show you just what your crystal can really do."

She sighed deeply. "Well, you'll probably kill me either way, but my life already sucks so why not?"

Garfield pulled her upright, and let go, sensing he should. He heard Stefanee take a few steps forward. Then, silence. He guessed she was concentrating or something like that. The ground trembled slightly. He shifted his balance, hoping he wasn't going to fall down. Something rumbled, and rocks began rolling down the hills as the ground split. Feeling like he was about to fall, Garfield dropped to a crouch, and realized he still had his sword out.

Something huge—apparently the Bat Wildzord—tore loose and shot up into the sky, showering rocks and dirt on the group. Garfield shielded his face with one arm. The creature shot down again, landing with another rumble. Master Org was laughing triumphantly.

"At last, a Ranger of our own!"

"No—it can't be! I hate pink!"

* * *

><p><strong>Animarium, May 14th<strong>

Zanna awoke to the sound of birdsong. Opening her eyes, she saw a canopy of trees overhead, and sat up and looked around. The place looked like the ruins of an old temple, surrounded by jungle—but Zanna recognized the orange-brown carvings. She glanced down at herself, and recognized Princess Shayla's white dress. That was . . . different. Was she going to be a love interest again? She'd thought Shayla and Merrick's relationship was a pretty well-accepted one, and if anyone contradicted it they usually wanted Merrick, not her. Well, only one way to find out.

Rising, Zanna headed for the main living quarters. As she reached the steps, she trod on the hem of her skirt and tripped. She almost fell, but caught herself on one of the pillars—and felt the dress rip. Horrified, she gathered her skirts and examined the tear. It was right along the side seam, and already the thin fabric was starting to fray. She groaned. Perfect. Less than ten minutes in a new universe and she'd already ruined the outfit of a Rangers' mentor. Granted whatever she did here would be undone when Time Force reset everything, but still!

"Shayla?"

Zanna started and looked around to see a pajama-clad Alyssa standing a few feet away, looking at her. Quickly she tried to get back into character, straightening and dropping the handful of skirt.

"Good morning, Alyssa."

"Are you okay? You looked a little upset," Alyssa asked, coming closer.

"Oh, it's nothing," Zanna said. "You're up early."

"Someone has to make breakfast." Now Alyssa was near enough to see the rip, even though Zanna tried to cover it with her hand. "I have some sewing supplies if you need to fix that."

Zanna hesitated. Her knowledge of sewing was . . . limited, let's say. She'd done some Home Ec classes and based on that experience she suspected anything she did to the dress would only make it worse.

"If you need something else to wear while you fix it, I've got some spare clothes," Alyssa offered tentatively.

"Oh! That would help, thank you," Zanna replied, smiling back at her.

As Alyssa took her back to her "room" to find something else, Zanna wondered just when the Sue was going to show up. Was she possessing Alyssa? It didn't feel like it, Alyssa was normally nice and Zanna didn't feel any mental tugs to do or say anything in particular. This was the longest it had taken for an Akra to appear, and wondering made Zanna antsy. Despite her nervousness, she started on the dress, after Alyssa helped her knot her thread. Zanna managed to laugh off her inexperience as being three thousand years out of practice.

"You know, if you ever want more than that one dress, we could always go out and find you something," Alyssa suggested, as she got to work cutting up fruit for the team's breakfast.

"I have a feeling if we tried we'd just end up attracting Org attention," Zanna replied, with a rueful smile.

"We do that all the time anyway. We can't let being scared of the Orgs ruin the rest of our time," Alyssa replied.

Zanna paused as that thought sank in. "You're right. Just because we've got enemies doesn't mean we need to be afraid of them all the time," she said slowly.

"So you want to go?"

Zanna grinned. "I'd love to."

* * *

><p><strong>The Nexus, May 16th<strong>

"Don't drop your guard!" Zen-Aku snarled, striking at Stefanee's exposed head. She ducked, avoiding the blow, and moved back out of reach. The two were sparring, again, in one of the many shadowy caves combing Master Org's lair.

"We've been doing this for days, Zen-Aku. It's a waste of time," she sighed.

"Focus!" Zen-Aku slammed the hilt of his sword into her gut, making her double over. She coughed and straightened, folding her arms.

"Is that all you've got? I don't see how hitting me is going to make me a better fighter—for or against you people."

"Learning how to take a blow is almost as important as learning to avoid it," Zen-Aku replied.

"But I don't even want to fight. I don't want anything to do with your stupid war," Stefanee muttered. "Not that anyone listens to me."

"Master Org has never been particularly interested in anyone but himself, or anything but his own goals," Zen-Aku said. "If you want to avoid a short, painful life, I suggest you start learning."

"What does it matter?" Stefanee retorted, throwing up her hands. "You Orgs don't need me, you just want control of that Zord thing. I'm just the tool for you to get control of it. Then again why would you want someone like me? Not even my parents care."

"Because you're the only person in the entire world who's ever felt like a worthless pawn." The venom in Zen-Aku's voice got Stefanee's attention. It was just in time; the Duke Org took a swing at her. She did a quick sidestep and avoided it, but the blade whooshed past close enough for her to feel the breeze. He growled and sheathed his sword.

"We're done for the day."

Turning, he stormed out of the cave. Stefanee lowered her arm, watching him go. She sighed. "You wouldn't understand. You're not even human."

She turned back to what was now more or less her room. It was pretty dark, the way she liked it, but basically bare. Not that she minded sleeping on a dirt floor; it wasn't much worse than her parents had treated her. They hadn't understood her either, just pushed her to be their perfect normal daughter. That's why she'd run away in the first place. Well, at least she still had her poetry. Flipping open her small, black journal, Stefanee started writing. Soon she was lost among ravens and blood and metaphors for loneliness.

"Stefanee?"

The voice startled her, and she hastily hid her journal. Standing she spun around to see Zen-Aku standing behind her.

"More fighting?" Stefanee asked wearily.

"No. You've already trained enough for one day. I think it's time to start applying your lessons."

Stefanee folded her arms and quirked an eyebrow at him. "How? Not in that awful pink suit."

"Unless you want the entire world to know that you're working with the Orgs, yes, the pink suit."

Stefanee groaned.

* * *

><p><strong>Shopping District, Turtle Cove<strong>

Garfield guessed it was night by the chill and the lack of noise in the city. He stood at the end of a street, posing mostly. Stefanee was coming along behind him, morphed and hating every second of it. Not that she was complaining, she just sighed every ten seconds or so, like she did most of the time. Akra influence told him that he was supposed to be intrigued, though it was getting increasingly difficult to not be irritated. He couldn't even have the fun part of playing a villain, he just had to spend all his time hovering around this mopey chick.

"Where are we going?" She asked at last.

"Be patient," was Garfield's reply. "You will be able to prove yourself soon enough."

"I don't need to prove myself to you creeps."

"You do need to prove yourself to Master Org if you want to continue existing," Garfield snapped.

"Like I care."

"If you didn't, you could have died several times over by now," Garfield muttered.

Whether Stefanee didn't hear or just chose not to respond wasn't clear, but she didn't reply. Moving closer to the side of the street, Garfield ran a hand over the shop windows. It was hard to tell, but he had a feeling this was the right spot. At last, Garfield halted.

"Here. Destroy this place and show me what you can do," he said.

". . . A Hot Topic?"

Garfield was glad his new face was so hard to move; he'd have been smirking otherwise. He thought he'd sensed something like the Akra's energy emanating from this place.

"Yes. Tear this store apart."

"Is this some kind of stupid joke? Are you making fun of me?" Stefanee demanded.

"Why? Is this place special to you?" Garfield struggled to keep his voice threatening and wolfish.

"No!" He could almost hear the lie just from her voice. "But this is all so stupid!"

"If you're of no use to Master Org, I see no reason to keep you alive," he said in a low voice, drawing his sword.

"Oh yeah? No way I'm letting a jerk like you kill me for a stupid reason like that," Stefanee snapped. Garfield felt her charging, and let the Akra control take over the fight. Easier than trying to retain control at this point.

His hands shot up, sword swinging towards her head. She ducked, but energy arced out of the blade, and he heard her cry out as it struck. She crashed into the windows of a building across the street with a bang.

"Zen-Aku!"

He whirled around to face what he guessed were the Rangers. The speaker had been a woman, and now she continued. "Whatever you're up to, we're going to stop it!"

Akra influence tugged him the other way. He glanced back towards Stefanee, and growled under his breath.

"No matter. I've done what I came to do." With that, he turned and stormed away. Well, at least that pesky thing was off his hands now.

* * *

><p><strong>Animarium, May 17th<strong>

"She's coming around," Zanna said, and the other Rangers gathered around the bed. The Pink Ranger they'd retrieved the night before lay there, her head bandaged. She stirred and opened her eyes. They were, of course, bright purple, just like the dyed streak in her black hair. As she woke up, Zanna felt a kind of fuzziness settling over her brain, telling her to be sickeningly sweet. She could see it reflected in the Wild Force Rangers' expressions already.

"What are you looking at?" She asked.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked. "What's your name?"

She sat up, and everyone moved back to give her room. "What's it matter to you people?"

"We're Rangers too," Alyssa said. "We saw your Animal Crystal. You're lucky to have survived a fight with Zen-Aku."

"It wasn't a fight—and it wasn't any of your business either." With a wince, the Akra host pulled herself out of the bed and started walking.

Cole moved into her path. "If you were fighting Zen-Aku, that means we're on the same side."

"You people could never understand," she muttered, shoving past Cole and continuing on. She didn't make it very far before she sagged to one side, slumping against a pillar. The Rangers hastened after her en masse, even Taylor helping to support her back to the bed. She struggled a little but without any real success. Instead she just sighed and rolled onto her side, away from her rescuers.

"Is something wrong?" Alyssa asked.

"Just leave me alone."

The Rangers exchanged looks, and retreated, Zanna following, for the start of what she knew would be a long discussion of the stranger's mysterious nature and deep personal pain or whatever. She wondered where Garfield was.

That Night

Stefanee sat on the edge of a rocky protrusion, gazing up at the moon. It was full and huge, and looking at it made her think of Zen-Aku. Surrounded by all these obnoxiously perky Rangers she missed the grim, mysterious Duke Org. Even the sparring sessions.

Hearing a rustle in the foliage behind her, she sighed and said loudly, "I told you, I don't need anything from you people. Leave me alone, 'Rangers.'"

"I am not a Ranger."

Stefanee stiffened at the sound and sprang to her feet, turning to see a pair of yellow eyes gleaming in the shadows of the trees. She didn't smile, she rarely would do something like that, but the glumness in her expression vanished.

"Zen-Aku?"

Out came the Duke Org himself, sword resting across his shoulder. "Actually no. I mean, I'm the same guy you've been annoying for a while, but I was never really Zen-Aku."

Stefanee's confusion vanished as the Duke Org pulled a small, blue gyroscope out from apparently nowhere. She shouted "Wild Access!" as he exclaimed "Sands of Time, Rise Up!" Pink and blue lights lit up the Animarium, fading as the two morphed.

"You really do suck at fighting," the Cerulean Ranger said, circling.

"You're one to talk," Stefanee replied, eyes blazing blue beneath her visor. "You're the blind one."

"You've heard of me? Excellent!" He sounded genuinely excited. "If you can hear me, Stefanee's host, don't worry, I'll have you back to normal in no time."

Stefanee charged, fans slashing at the other Ranger. He ducked and darted aside, launching a side kick that caught her just above the hip. Wheeling she seized his ankle and jerked it in, pinning his leg to her torso. An elbow to the knee made him falter, and stumble back when she let go. No more playing around now.

As Garfield's next punch was deflected, Stefanee glimpsed something green moving among the trees. She realized she wasn't alone, and mentally called out for the Bat Wildzord. As the Harlequin Ranger moved to back up her teammate, something huge and pink swooped overhead. She let out a startled shriek as it dropped and snatched her up. The Cerulean Ranger's head whipped around at the sound. In his distraction, Stefanee charged him, slashing her fans at his unprotected back and neck.

At the very last second he ducked. Stefanee's momentum carried her over him, and she sprawled. Quick as a flash he was on top of her, pinning her down with his lanky frame. She struggled as he found the clips holding her helmet shut and undid them. Shoving the helmet aside, he bent low over her.

"Call off the bat."

"You think I care about pain?" Stefanee hissed.

In response, the Cerulean Ranger pulled out a small black book, and Stefanee's eyes widened. "You think I didn't hear you composing those poems every night?" He demanded, waggling the book. Rising, he stepped back and flipped it open. "Let's see what I remember . . . this smells like blood, so this is the one about cutting, isn't it? I think we can do without romanticizing that."

He tore the pages out and crumpled them, tossing them over the side of the cliff. They tumbled into the water as Stefanee let out an involuntary scream. Overhead, the Bat Wildzord hesitated, flapping uncertainly.

"Call. Off. The. Bat."

"You can't!"

The Cerulean Ranger kept flipping, paused, and wiggled the page. It crackled, the way paper that's gotten wet and dried does. "Tear stains, here's another interesting one. Bye bye, velvet ebon nothingness!" Rip went the pages. Stefanee dropped to her knees, tears smearing her eyeliner. "Toodles, darkly beautiful emotions! Fare thee well, untitled!"

"All right, all right!" She screamed at last. The Bat Wildzord began to descend, wingbeats rustling the trees. Stefanee held out a trembling hand. "J-just give it back."

Slowly, Garfield crossed the gap between them, book held up and open. Bits of paper fluttered across the rocks around them. The Bat Wildzord landed nearby, and the Harlequin Ranger scrambled out of its grasp. As the Cerulean Ranger handed the notebook back, Harlequin drew a gun and fired. Gas exploded around Stefanee, who collapsed, gasping. She clutched the notebook to her chest as everything started to go fuzzy.

" . . . all right, love?" Garfield asked, as Harlequin approached.

"Yes, thanks. I've been meaning to apologize. I think I'm starting to understand how you can enjoy relaxing in one of these universes."

"Oh good! I've been having fun too—this one was so easy to troll."

"I underst—wait, she was?" Harlequin sounded surprised, and not in a good way.

"Yeah, so melodramatic. I'm glad you're coming to see things my way."

"Oh. Right."

"Anyway, give me a hand with the Akra?"

"Of course . . ."

* * *

><p><strong>Trivia<strong>

Today's Sue was submitted by WolfsbaneX, simultaneously with another Sue, and during the original run of this fic I mixed their names up.

Sorry about the lack of activity, NaNoWriMo took the wind out of my sails pretty severely as far as writing went and I'm still struggling to find my momentum again.


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